Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC Acquires 53,385 Shares of Fastenal Company $FAST

Key Points

• Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Fastenal by 79.9%, acquiring 53,385 shares in Q2, bringing its total to 120,158 shares valued at approximately $5,047,000.
• Fastenal reported Q2 earnings of $0.29 per share, exceeding analyst expectations of $0.28, with revenue reaching $2.08 billion, up 8.6% year-over-year.
• Institutional investors now own 81.38% of Fastenal's stock, with several hedge funds significantly increasing their positions in the company during the current reporting period.

Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 79.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 120,158 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 53,385 shares during the period. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Fastenal were worth $5,047,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fenimore Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 101.0% during the second quarter. Fenimore Asset Management Inc now owns 3,747,704 shares of the company's stock valued at $157,404,000 after buying an additional 1,883,419 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Fastenal by 8.9% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,615,915 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,753,864,000 after acquiring an additional 1,850,871 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. bought a new stake in Fastenal in the 2nd quarter valued at $73,733,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Fastenal by 97.5% in the 2nd quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 3,280,009 shares of the company's stock worth $137,760,000 after purchasing an additional 1,619,507 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal during the first quarter valued at about $119,136,000. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST opened at $47.78 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 4.22, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Fastenal Company has a 12 month low of $34.69 and a 12 month high of $50.63. The company has a market capitalization of $54.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.94, a PEG ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.94. The firm's 50-day moving average is $48.20 and its 200 day moving average is $43.71.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last released 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 business had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.33% and a net margin of 15.30%.The business's revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.25 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 29th were given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 29th. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio is presently 84.62%.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In related news, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was 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, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total value of $333,000.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,994 shares in the company, valued at $583,747.98. This represents a 36.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 111,230 shares of company stock valued at $5,288,364 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on FAST. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Fastenal from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 target price on shares of Fastenal and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Loop Capital reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $47.25.

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.

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