Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. Purchases 6,165 Shares of Fastenal Company $FAST

Key Points

• Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its holdings in Fastenal Company by 164.6%, owning a total of 9,910 shares worth approximately $416,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
• Several institutional investors have significantly increased their stakes in Fastenal, with Garde Capital Inc. raising holdings by 4,900.0% and Horizon Financial Services LLC by 5,330.0% during the second quarter.
• Fastenal recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.8%, with a payout ratio of 84.62%.

Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its position in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 164.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,910 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 6,165 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc.'s holdings in Fastenal were worth $416,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of FAST. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 8.9% during 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 buying an additional 1,850,871 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 8,541.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,694,235 shares of the company's stock worth $131,388,000 after buying an additional 1,674,628 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 97.5% during the second quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 3,280,009 shares of the company's stock worth $137,760,000 after buying an additional 1,619,507 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the first quarter worth approximately $119,136,000. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 266.4% during the first quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,824,055 shares of the company's stock worth $141,455,000 after buying an additional 1,326,260 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens raised their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, August 21st. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 price target on shares of Fastenal and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised shares of Fastenal from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the company from $47.00 to $55.00 in a report on Thursday, August 7th. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $46.82.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.05, for a total value of $2,341,188.20. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 11,880 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $570,834. This trade represents a 80.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 11,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $583,747.98. The trade was a 36.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 three months. Insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of Fastenal stock traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $47.12. The company had a trading volume of 5,126,862 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,481,205. Fastenal Company has a 1-year low of $34.69 and a 1-year high of $50.63. The company has a market capitalization of $54.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 4.22, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.75.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last announced 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 net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 32.33%. The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.07 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.25 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th were paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 29th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 84.62%.

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.