Optas LLC Purchases 6,863 Shares of Fastenal Company $FAST

Optas LLC grew its position in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 100.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,712 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,863 shares during the quarter. Optas LLC's holdings in Fastenal were worth $576,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 0.3% in the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 49,219 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,817,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 0.4% in the first quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 32,992 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,559,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 0.9% in the first quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 15,886 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,142,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.7% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 2.4% in the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 6,276 shares of the company's stock valued at $487,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.05, for a total value 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. This represents a 80.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of the 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $583,747.98. The trade was a 36.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 111,230 shares of company stock worth $5,288,364. 0.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Fastenal Trading Up 0.2%

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $47.55 on Thursday. Fastenal Company has a twelve month low of $34.69 and a twelve month high of $50.63. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $48.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.76. The company has a market cap of $54.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 0.94.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. 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 the consensus estimate of $2.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.25 EPS. The business's revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th were issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 29th. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio is presently 84.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on FAST. Robert W. Baird raised Fastenal from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $55.00 in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed a "positive" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 price target on Fastenal and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Barclays initiated coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a "positive" rating and a $49.00 price target for the company. Finally, Loop Capital reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $47.41.

Fastenal 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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