Norris Perne & French LLP MI Purchases 211,040 Shares of Fastenal Company $FAST

Key Points

• Norris Perne & French LLP MI increased its stake in Fastenal Company by 98.4% in the second quarter, purchasing an additional 211,040 shares, raising their total holdings to 425,582 shares worth approximately $17.87 million.
• Fastenal reported earnings of $0.29 per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, and saw a revenue increase of 8.6% year-over-year, totaling $2.08 billion.
• Insider trading activity includes William Joseph Drazkowski selling 6,842 shares and Jeffery Michael Watts selling 48,724 shares, indicating a significant reduction in their ownership of the company stocks.

Norris Perne & French LLP MI boosted its position in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 98.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 425,582 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 211,040 shares during the period. Norris Perne & French LLP MI's holdings in Fastenal were worth $17,874,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 100.0% during the 2nd quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 696 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its holdings in Fastenal by 95.0% during the second quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 702 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the period. Clean Yield Group increased its position in Fastenal by 100.0% during the second quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 696 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. raised its stake in Fastenal by 4,900.0% in the second quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 750 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 735 shares during the period. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 86.3% in the second quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 842 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fastenal Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of FAST stock opened at $48.70 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $48.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.27. 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 company has a market capitalization of $55.89 billion, a PE ratio of 46.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.43 and a beta of 0.97. Fastenal Company has a 12-month low of $34.69 and a 12-month high of $50.63.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.07 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 32.33%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.25 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 was Tuesday, July 29th. Fastenal's payout ratio is presently 84.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other news, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The shares were 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 directly owned 11,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $583,747.98. The trade was a 36.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.05, for a total transaction of $2,341,188.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 11,880 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $570,834. The trade was a 80.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 111,230 shares of company stock valued at $5,288,364 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on FAST shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Robert W. Baird raised Fastenal from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Northcoast Research started coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price objective on Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Stephens raised their price objective on Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $46.82.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.