Sawyer & Company Inc Buys 9,587 Shares of Fastenal Company $FAST

Key Points

• Sawyer & Company Inc has significantly increased its stake in Fastenal Company by 100%, owning 19,175 shares worth approximately $805,000 after acquiring an additional 9,587 shares in Q2.
• Fastenal recently reported earnings of $0.29 per share for the last quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate and achieving 8.6% revenue growth year-over-year with revenues of $2.08 billion.
• Multiple analyst upgrades have adjusted Fastenal's price targets, with a current consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $46.82.

Sawyer & Company Inc grew its stake in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,175 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,587 shares during the period. Sawyer & Company Inc's holdings in Fastenal were worth $805,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Channel Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Fastenal by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter. Channel Wealth LLC now owns 5,920 shares of the company's stock worth $249,000 after acquiring an additional 2,960 shares in the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the 2nd quarter worth about $205,000. Taylor Hoffman Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Fastenal by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter. Taylor Hoffman Capital Management LLC now owns 14,576 shares of the company's stock worth $612,000 after acquiring an additional 7,288 shares in the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lifted its stake in Fastenal by 163.2% in the 2nd quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 49,941 shares of the company's stock worth $2,098,000 after acquiring an additional 30,969 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baron Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Fastenal by 93.9% in the 2nd quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,272 shares of the company's stock worth $851,000 after acquiring an additional 9,817 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fastenal Stock Performance

FAST traded up $0.36 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $47.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 13,747,553 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,443,559. The stock has a market cap of $54.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.75, a PEG ratio of 4.29 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.89. 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 Company has a twelve month low of $34.69 and a twelve month high of $50.63.

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

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.03, for a total value of $1,662,414.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 21,052 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was 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 owned 10,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at $460,780.32. This represents a 67.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 111,230 shares of company stock worth $5,288,364 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FAST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Loop Capital reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Robert W. Baird raised Fastenal from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Stephens upped their target price on Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed a "positive" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Baird R W raised Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $46.82.

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.