Fastenal Company $FAST Shares Acquired by Capital Investment Services of America Inc.

Capital Investment Services of America Inc. boosted its holdings in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 96.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 137,397 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 67,548 shares during the quarter. Capital Investment Services of America Inc.'s holdings in Fastenal were worth $5,771,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A bought a new position in shares of Fastenal in the second quarter worth $34,000. Freedom Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Fastenal by 65.6% in the 2nd quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,474 shares of the company's stock valued at $314,000 after buying an additional 2,961 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP increased its stake in Fastenal by 112.8% during the 2nd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 8,326 shares of the company's stock valued at $350,000 after buying an additional 4,413 shares during the period. Ethic Inc. raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 108.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 189,177 shares of the company's stock worth $7,938,000 after buying an additional 98,270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Investment Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 88.0% in the second quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 451,992 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,984,000 after acquiring an additional 211,565 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Stock Down 1.7%

FAST stock opened at $42.60 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.26 and a quick ratio of 2.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.94. Fastenal Company has a 52-week low of $35.31 and a 52-week high of $50.63. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $47.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.09.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 13th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.01). Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.69% and a net margin of 15.34%.The firm had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.26 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 28th. Fastenal's payout ratio is 82.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on FAST. Wolfe Research reaffirmed a "positive" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $46.50.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In related news, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu bought 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 16th. The stock was bought at an average price of $42.45 per share, for a total transaction of $42,450.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 9,000 shares in the company, valued at $382,050. This represents a 12.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.03, for a total transaction of $1,662,414.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 90,178 shares of company stock worth $4,336,603 in the last 90 days. 0.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Fastenal Profile

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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