Fastenal Company $FAST Shares Acquired by Janney Montgomery Scott LLC

Key Points

• Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in Fastenal Company by 183.1% in the second quarter, now owning about 0.07% of the company valued at approximately $32 million.
• Insider trading activity reveals that Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares for over $2.34 million, significantly reducing his ownership stake by 80.40%.
• Fastenal's latest earnings report revealed a net margin of 15.30% with $0.29 earnings per share, surpassing analysts' expectations despite a quarterly revenue increase of 8.6% year-over-year.

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 183.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 762,906 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 493,395 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC owned about 0.07% of Fastenal worth $32,042,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. increased its holdings in Fastenal by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 696 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 95.0% in the second quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 702 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Clean Yield Group grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 100.0% in the second quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 696 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 4,900.0% in the second quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 750 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 735 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 86.3% in the second quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 842 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In related news, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.05, for a total value of $2,341,188.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 11,880 shares of the company's stock, valued at $570,834. The trade was a 80.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total transaction of $333,000.14. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $583,747.98. The trade was a 36.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 111,230 shares of company stock valued at $5,288,364 in the last ninety days. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Fastenal Price Performance

Fastenal stock opened at $47.72 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $54.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.42. Fastenal Company has a 12-month low of $34.69 and a 12-month high of $50.63. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.01. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 32.33%. The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.25 earnings per share. Fastenal's quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Fastenal from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $47.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 price target on shares of Fastenal and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Baird R W upgraded shares of Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $46.82.

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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