LS Investment Advisors LLC Acquires 9,206 Shares of Fastenal Company $FAST

Key Points

• LS Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Fastenal Company by 100.0%, acquiring an additional 9,206 shares in Q2, bringing its total to 18,412 shares worth $773,000.
• Insider selling has been significant, with key executives selling over 111,230 shares worth approximately $5.3 million in the last 90 days.
• Wall Street analysts have given Fastenal a consensus rating of "Hold" with an average price target of $46.82, while research analysts have recently issued various upgrades.

LS Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 100.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,412 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,206 shares during the period. LS Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Fastenal were worth $773,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in FAST. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at about $496,000. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 8,567 shares of the company's stock valued at $616,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 40.0% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 234,623 shares of the company's stock worth $16,872,000 after acquiring an additional 66,991 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in Fastenal by 33.2% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 3,330 shares of the company's stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 830 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Hawaiian Bank grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.0% during the first quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 19,259 shares of the company's stock worth $1,494,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of the firm'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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 21,052 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $460,780.32. The trade was a 67.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 111,230 shares of company stock worth $5,288,364 in the last 90 days. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird raised Fastenal from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $47.00 to $55.00 in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Stephens upped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Northcoast Research began coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed a "positive" rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $46.82.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of FAST stock opened at $47.85 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.22 and a quick ratio of 2.12. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $48.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.12. Fastenal Company has a one year low of $34.69 and a one year high of $50.63. The stock has a market cap of $54.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.01, a P/E/G ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 0.97.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 32.33% and a net margin of 15.30%.The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.25 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, 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 was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th were issued a $0.22 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio is 84.62%.

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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