SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC Grows Stock Position in Fastenal Company $FAST

Key Points

• SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Fastenal Company by 101.9%, acquiring an additional 10,416 shares, bringing its total to 20,641 shares valued at $867,000.
• Insider selling activity is noted, with EVP William Joseph Drazkowski and CFO Sheryl Ann Lisowski both reducing their stakes significantly in recent weeks.
• Fastenal Company reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.29, exceeding analysts' expectations, and its revenue increased by 8.6% year-over-year, reaching $2.08 billion.

SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 101.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,641 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,416 shares during the quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Fastenal were worth $867,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 73,317,271 shares of the company's stock worth $5,685,754,000 after purchasing an additional 1,016,479 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 8.9% in 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. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,418,765 shares of the company's stock worth $652,875,000 after purchasing an additional 142,972 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,591,850 shares of the company's stock worth $511,198,000 after acquiring an additional 168,830 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 613,254 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.8%

FAST stock traded up $0.36 on Friday, reaching $47.58. 13,747,553 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,858,801. The company has a market cap of $54.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.97. Fastenal Company has a one year low of $34.69 and a one year high of $50.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.22 and a quick ratio of 2.12. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.95.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.25 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other Fastenal 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 transaction of $1,662,414.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 21,052 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.21, for a total value of $951,760.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 10,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $460,780.32. This represents a 67.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 111,230 shares of company stock valued at $5,288,364 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird raised Fastenal from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $55.00 in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Wolfe Research reissued a "positive" rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 14th. Stephens lifted 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. Loop Capital reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fastenal has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $46.82.

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.