Lantz Financial LLC Boosts Stock Position in Fastenal Company $FAST

Key Points

• Lantz Financial LLC increased its stake in Fastenal Company by 98.6% in the second quarter, now owning 44,594 shares valued at $1,873,000.
• Fastenal reported earnings of $0.29 per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations and reflecting an 8.6% revenue increase year-over-year.
• Executive vice president William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of Fastenal, representing a 36.32% decrease in his position, amid broader insider selling activity.

Lantz Financial LLC lifted its position in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 98.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 44,594 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 22,138 shares during the quarter. Lantz Financial LLC's holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,873,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FAST. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter worth $496,000. State of Wyoming grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 194.3% during the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 4,218 shares of the company's stock valued at $303,000 after buying an additional 2,785 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,953,000. Waverly Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth about $494,000. Finally, Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 226.5% during the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 11,715 shares of the company's stock worth $842,000 after purchasing an additional 8,127 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of FAST opened at $47.58 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $54.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.29 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 4.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $47.84 and a 200 day moving average of $42.89. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.01. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 32.33%. The company had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.25 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total value of $333,000.14. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $583,747.98. This represents a 36.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of the 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 111,230 shares of company stock worth $5,288,364. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FAST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Fastenal from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $55.00 in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Loop Capital reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, August 21st. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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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