Fastenal Company $FAST Stock Holdings Boosted by Securian Asset Management Inc.

Key Points

• Securian Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Fastenal Company by 97.2%, owning a total of 59,883 shares valued at approximately $2.5 million as per its recent SEC filing.
• Fastenal reported an earnings miss for the quarter, posting $0.29 EPS against a consensus estimate of $0.30, with revenues of $2.13 billion remaining in line with expectations but representing an 11.7% year-over-year increase.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, reflecting a dividend yield of 2.0%, with an ex-dividend date set for October 28th.

Securian Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 97.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 59,883 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 29,510 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Fastenal were worth $2,515,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its stake in Fastenal by 107.2% during the 2nd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 6,822,973 shares of the company's stock valued at $286,565,000 after purchasing an additional 3,530,339 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Fastenal by 90.0% during the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 4,934,558 shares of the company's stock valued at $207,251,000 after purchasing an additional 2,337,187 shares in the last quarter. Fenimore Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Fastenal by 101.0% during the 2nd quarter. Fenimore Asset Management Inc now owns 3,747,704 shares of the company's stock valued at $157,404,000 after purchasing an additional 1,883,419 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,850,871 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 2nd quarter worth $73,733,000. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of Fastenal stock opened at $43.32 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $49.73 billion, a PE ratio of 40.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.10. The company has a quick ratio of 2.19, a current ratio of 4.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Fastenal Company has a 12 month low of $35.31 and a 12 month high of $50.63.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 13th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.69% and a net margin of 15.34%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.26 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 28th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 28th. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.05, for a total value of $2,341,188.20. Following the sale, the insider owned 11,880 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $570,834. This represents a 80.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 90,178 shares of company stock worth $4,336,603. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on FAST. Baird R W raised Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Northcoast Research began coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Fastenal from $53.00 to $49.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $46.50.

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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