Sovran Advisors LLC Acquires 7,979 Shares of Fastenal Company $FAST

Key Points

• Sovran Advisors LLC increased its stake in Fastenal Company by **77.8%**, acquiring an additional **7,979 shares** to reach a total of **18,238 shares** valued at **$781,000** at the end of the second quarter.
• Fastenal reported earnings of **$0.29 per share**, surpassing analysts' expectations of **$0.28**, with quarterly revenue at **$2.08 billion**, showing an **8.6% year-over-year increase**.
• Fastenal recently cut its quarterly dividend to **$0.22 per share**, resulting in an annualized yield of **1.8%**, with a dividend payout ratio of **84.62%**.

Sovran Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 77.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,238 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,979 shares during the period. Sovran Advisors LLC's holdings in Fastenal were worth $781,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 8.9% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,615,915 shares of the company's stock worth $1,753,864,000 after acquiring an additional 1,850,871 shares during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 7.5% in the first quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 181,482 shares of the company's stock worth $14,074,000 after acquiring an additional 12,721 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 3.9% in the first quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 195,748 shares of the company's stock worth $15,180,000 after acquiring an additional 7,400 shares during the period. Raiffeisen Bank International AG boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 21.5% in the first quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 35,606 shares of the company's stock worth $2,712,000 after acquiring an additional 6,303 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 23.9% in the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,459,124 shares of the company's stock worth $190,705,000 after acquiring an additional 473,987 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of FAST stock opened at $47.58 on Friday. Fastenal Company has a 1 year low of $34.69 and a 1 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 stock's 50 day simple moving average is $47.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.89. The company has a market cap of $54.60 billion, a PE ratio of 45.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.29 and a beta of 0.97.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.25 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th were given 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 is 84.62%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 sale, the insider directly owned 11,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $570,834. This represents a 80.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of the 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 111,230 shares of company stock valued at $5,288,364. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on FAST. 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 research note on Thursday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 target price on Fastenal and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. Baird R W upgraded Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fastenal has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding FAST? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.