Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Acquired by LPL Financial LLC

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Fastenal Company by 9.6% in Q1, owning approximately $30.39 million worth of shares after acquiring an additional 34,443 shares.
• Analysts have set various price targets for Fastenal, with a consensus target price of $45.64 and a majority rating of "Hold."
• Fastenal reported earnings of $0.29 per share for the last quarter, slightly exceeding expectations, while announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share.

LPL Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 9.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 391,932 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 34,443 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Fastenal worth $30,394,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of FAST. Horizon Financial Services LLC increased its position in Fastenal by 5,330.0% during the first quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 543 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 533 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. increased its position in Fastenal by 481.9% during the fourth quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 611 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 506 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Fastenal during the first quarter valued at $57,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Fastenal by 5,661.5% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 749 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 736 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Close Asset Management Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 156.4% in the first quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd now owns 800 shares of the company's stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Scott Satterlee sold 19,340 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.76, for a total value of $768,861.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 50,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,987,750. This trade represents a 27.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 32,724 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.23, for a total transaction of $1,349,046.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 73,116 shares of company stock worth $3,069,670 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of FAST stock traded down $0.69 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $45.44. 7,660,893 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,357,095. The stock has a market cap of $52.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.69, a P/E/G ratio of 4.14 and a beta of 0.95. The stock's fifty day moving average is $43.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.22. Fastenal Company has a 52-week low of $32.04 and a 52-week high of $48.10. 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 (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.08 billion during 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.25 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 29th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 29th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 84.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Wolfe Research restated a "positive" rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 price target on shares of Fastenal and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Stephens upped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $45.64.

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.