10,772 Shares in Fastenal Company $FAST Purchased by Okabena Investment Services Inc.

Key Points

• Okabena Investment Services Inc. has invested approximately $835,000 in Fastenal by acquiring 10,772 shares during the first quarter, highlighting increasing institutional interest in the company's stock.
• Fastenal reported a net margin of 15.30% and a year-over-year revenue increase of 8.6%, with earnings per share of $0.29 exceeding estimates.
• Recent analyst ratings for Fastenal show a positive outlook, with the average consensus price target set at $46.36 and multiple upgrades from various financial institutions.

Okabena Investment Services Inc. bought a new position in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 10,772 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $835,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its position in Fastenal by 0.3% in the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 49,219 shares of the company's stock worth $3,817,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC grew its position in Fastenal by 0.4% in the first quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 32,992 shares of the company's stock worth $2,559,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in Fastenal by 0.9% in the first quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 15,886 shares of the company's stock worth $1,142,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Fastenal by 1.6% in the first quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,000 shares of the company's stock worth $698,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Essex Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in Fastenal by 1.7% during the first quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 8,870 shares of the company's stock valued at $688,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.05, for a total value of $2,341,188.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 11,880 shares of the company's stock, valued at $570,834. This represents a 80.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.03, for a total transaction of $1,662,414.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 111,230 shares of company stock valued at $5,288,364. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Fastenal from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the company from $47.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Stephens upped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $46.36.

Fastenal Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of Fastenal stock traded down $0.52 during trading on Monday, reaching $49.66. 4,613,202 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,464,649. 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 stock's fifty day moving average is $46.11 and its 200 day moving average is $41.83. The firm has a market cap of $56.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 0.97. Fastenal Company has a 1 year low of $32.04 and a 1 year high of $50.63.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.01. The company 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%. Fastenal's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.25 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 84.62%.

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.