Fastenal Company $FAST Shares Acquired by Ballentine Partners LLC

Key Points

• Ballentine Partners LLC increased its stake in Fastenal Company by 77.4% during the 2nd quarter, owning 20,098 shares valued at approximately $844,000.
• Fastenal recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share, representing an annual yield of 1.8%, with a payout ratio of 84.62%.
• Analysts have varying price targets for Fastenal, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a price target of $46.82, reflecting cautious optimism in the stock's performance.

Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 77.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 20,098 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,771 shares during the quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC's holdings in Fastenal were worth $844,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 49,219 shares of the company's stock worth $3,817,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC raised its stake in Fastenal by 0.4% during the first quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 32,992 shares of the company's stock worth $2,559,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 15,886 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,142,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $698,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. Finally, Essex Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 8,870 shares of the company's stock valued at $688,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 target price on Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Northcoast Research started coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 price objective on Fastenal and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $46.82.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.03, for a total transaction of $1,662,414.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 21,052 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.21, for a total value of $951,760.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,192 shares in the company, valued at $460,780.32. This represents a 67.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 111,230 shares of company stock worth $5,288,364. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Fastenal Price Performance

FAST opened at $47.85 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $48.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.12. Fastenal Company has a 12-month low of $34.69 and a 12-month high of $50.63. The firm has a market cap of $54.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.01, a PEG ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 4.22, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 32.33%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.25 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th were given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 29th. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 84.62%.

About Fastenal

Fastenal Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the wholesale distribution of industrial and construction supplies in the United States, Canada, Mexico, North America, and internationally. It offers fasteners, and related industrial and construction supplies under the Fastenal name. The company's fastener products include threaded fasteners, bolts, nuts, screws, studs, and related washers that are used in manufactured products and construction projects, as well as in the maintenance and repair of machines.

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