Roundview Capital LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Fastenal Company $FAST

Key Points

• Roundview Capital LLC significantly increased its stake in Fastenal Company, boosting it by 103.1% in the second quarter, now holding 234,499 shares valued at approximately $9.85 million.
• Fastenal's latest reported earnings showed an EPS of $0.29, surpassing analyst expectations, and a revenue increase of 8.6% year-over-year.
• Insider trading activity has increased, with executives selling significant shares, indicating potential changes in confidence or strategy, as insiders sold over 111,000 shares recently.

Roundview Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 103.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 234,499 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 119,026 shares during the period. Roundview Capital LLC's holdings in Fastenal were worth $9,849,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Patton Fund Management Inc. bought a new position in Fastenal during the second quarter valued at $229,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 1,850,871 shares during the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its position in Fastenal by 7.5% during the first quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 181,482 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,074,000 after purchasing an additional 12,721 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS lifted its position in Fastenal by 3.9% during the first quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 195,748 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,180,000 after purchasing an additional 7,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raiffeisen Bank International AG lifted its position in Fastenal by 21.5% during the first quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 35,606 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,712,000 after purchasing an additional 6,303 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of FAST opened at $47.78 on Tuesday. Fastenal Company has a 1-year low of $34.69 and a 1-year high of $50.63. The company has a 50-day moving average of $48.20 and a 200 day moving average of $43.71. The firm 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.22 and a quick ratio of 2.12.

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

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 29th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 29th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 84.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on FAST. Northcoast Research began coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Loop Capital restated a "hold" rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Stephens raised their target price on shares of Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Fastenal presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $47.25.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In related news, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total transaction of $333,000.14. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,994 shares in the company, valued at $583,747.98. This trade represents a 36.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 111,230 shares of company stock worth $5,288,364. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

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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