Loudon Investment Management LLC Acquires 78,291 Shares of Fastenal Company $FAST

Key Points

• Loudon Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Fastenal Company by 96.9% during Q2, acquiring an additional 78,291 shares, bringing their total to 159,082 shares valued at approximately $6.68 million.
• Fastenal recently reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.29, exceeding analyst estimates, with a revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, an 8.6% increase year-over-year.
• Insider selling was noted, with two executives selling a total of 41,454 shares recently, indicating a potential shift in management sentiment towards the company's stock.

Loudon Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 96.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 159,082 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 78,291 shares during the period. Fastenal comprises approximately 3.7% of Loudon Investment Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Loudon Investment Management LLC's holdings in Fastenal were worth $6,681,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Fastenal by 8.9% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,615,915 shares of the company's stock worth $1,753,864,000 after buying an additional 1,850,871 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. acquired a new position in Fastenal during the second quarter worth $73,733,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Fastenal by 97.5% during the second quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 3,280,009 shares of the company's stock worth $137,760,000 after buying an additional 1,619,507 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal during the first quarter worth $119,136,000. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in Fastenal by 266.4% during the first quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,824,055 shares of the company's stock worth $141,455,000 after buying an additional 1,326,260 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other news, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were 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 accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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. This represents a 36.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 111,230 shares of company stock worth $5,288,364. Insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Fastenal stock opened at $49.04 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $48.17 and a 200-day moving average of $43.39. The stock has a market cap of $56.28 billion, a PE ratio of 47.15, a PEG ratio of 4.44 and a beta of 0.97. Fastenal Company has a 52-week low of $34.69 and a 52-week 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 announced 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. The company had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.07 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 32.33%. Fastenal's quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.25 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Fastenal from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $55.00 in a report on Thursday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Wolfe Research reiterated a "positive" rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 14th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Northcoast Research began coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, August 21st. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $46.82.

Fastenal Company 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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