Fastenal Company $FAST Shares Purchased by Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC

Key Points

• Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC increased its stake in Fastenal by 96.9% in the second quarter, owning a total of 765,899 shares valued at approximately $32.17 million.
• Fastenal recently reported a Q2 earnings per share (EPS) of $0.29, beating expectations, with revenue up 8.6% year-over-year.
• Analysts have given Fastenal a consensus rating of "Hold" with a target price averaging $46.82, while the company maintains a debt-to-equity ratio of just 0.03.

Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC raised its stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 96.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 765,899 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 376,981 shares during the period. Fastenal makes up approximately 2.3% of Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC's holdings, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC owned about 0.07% of Fastenal worth $32,168,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Northcoast Research started coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. Wolfe Research restated a "positive" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Baird R W upgraded Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $46.82.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Fastenal stock opened at $47.72 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.22 and a quick ratio of 2.12. Fastenal Company has a 12 month low of $34.69 and a 12 month high of $50.63. The company has a market cap of $54.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.94. The stock's 50-day moving average is $48.18 and its 200-day moving average is $43.42.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 EPS 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 business had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.25 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate 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 issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 currently 84.62%.

Insider Activity

In other Fastenal news, 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 transaction of $951,760.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 10,192 shares in the company, valued at $460,780.32. This trade represents a 67.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.03, for a total value of $1,662,414.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 111,230 shares of company stock valued at $5,288,364. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.