RMR Wealth Builders Increases Holdings in Fastenal Company $FAST

Key Points

• RMR Wealth Builders boosted its holdings in Fastenal Company by 101.2%, now owning 16,448 shares worth approximately $691,000.
• The company's recent earnings report revealed a net margin of 15.30% and a revenue increase of 8.6% year-over-year, with earnings per share surpassing estimates.
• Insider trading activity has seen notable sales, including Jeffery Michael Watts selling 48,724 shares, representing an 80.40% reduction in his ownership.

RMR Wealth Builders increased its position in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 101.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,448 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,272 shares during the period. RMR Wealth Builders' holdings in Fastenal were worth $691,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of FAST. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 73,317,271 shares of the company's stock worth $5,685,754,000 after acquiring an additional 1,016,479 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,615,915 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,753,864,000 after purchasing an additional 1,850,871 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,418,765 shares of the company's stock valued at $652,875,000 after acquiring an additional 142,972 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,591,850 shares of the company's stock valued at $511,198,000 after buying an additional 168,830 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 11.5% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 5,933,636 shares of the company's stock worth $460,153,000 after purchasing an additional 613,254 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of FAST opened at $47.76 on Tuesday. Fastenal Company has a 1 year low of $34.69 and a 1 year high of $50.63. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $47.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.68. The company has a market capitalization of $54.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.92, a PEG ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a current ratio of 4.22.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.25 EPS. Fastenal's revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th were issued 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 84.62%.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total transaction of $333,000.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $583,747.98. This trade represents a 36.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 111,230 shares of company stock worth $5,288,364 over the last ninety days. 0.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on FAST. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 target price on shares of Fastenal and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price objective on Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Loop Capital restated a "hold" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Fastenal from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the company from $47.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.

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