Fastenal Company $FAST Shares Purchased by Goelzer Investment Management Inc.

Key Points

• Goelzer Investment Management Inc. significantly increased its stake in Fastenal by 100.3% during Q2, now owning 11,173 shares valued at $469,000.
• Fastenal's stock performance showed a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.29, beating analysts' expectations, with revenues reaching $2.08 billion.
• Insider trading was noted, with executives selling a total of 111,230 shares worth over $5 million in the past ninety days.

Goelzer Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 100.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,173 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,594 shares during the period. Goelzer Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Fastenal were worth $469,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,615,915 shares of the company's stock worth $1,753,864,000 after purchasing an additional 1,850,871 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Fastenal by 8,541.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,694,235 shares of the company's stock worth $131,388,000 after buying an additional 1,674,628 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 97.5% during the second quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 3,280,009 shares of the company's stock valued at $137,760,000 after acquiring an additional 1,619,507 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the first quarter valued at $119,136,000. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 266.4% during the first quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,824,055 shares of the company's stock valued at $141,455,000 after acquiring an additional 1,326,260 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fastenal news, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total transaction of $333,000.14. Following 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 111,230 shares of company stock worth $5,288,364. 0.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Fastenal stock opened at $47.12 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.08 billion, a PE ratio of 45.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 0.97. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $47.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.75. Fastenal Company has a one year low of $34.69 and a one year high of $50.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a current ratio of 4.22.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.25 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 29th were paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 29th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Fastenal's payout ratio is 84.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FAST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 target price on shares of Fastenal and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Loop Capital reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Baird R W raised shares of Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price 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, Wolfe Research restated a "positive" rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 14th. One equities research 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fastenal currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.

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