True North Advisors LLC Acquires 65,681 Shares of Fastenal Company $FAST

Key Points

• True North Advisors LLC significantly increased its stake in Fastenal Company by 86.8% during the second quarter, now holding a total of 141,350 shares valued at approximately $5.94 million.
• Several other institutional investors, including Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC and BankPlus Wealth Management LLC, also raised their positions in Fastenal, showcasing growing interest in the stock.
• Fastenal recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 1.8%, with a payout ratio currently at 84.62%.

True North Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 86.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 141,350 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 65,681 shares during the quarter. Fastenal makes up 1.1% of True North Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 14th largest holding. True North Advisors LLC's holdings in Fastenal were worth $5,937,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in FAST. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its stake in Fastenal by 44.3% in the 2nd quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 2,250 shares of the company's stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 691 shares during the period. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. grew its stake in Fastenal by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. now owns 2,400 shares of the company's stock worth $101,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Novem Group purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal during the second quarter worth approximately $910,000. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 108.1% during the second quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 21,280 shares of the company's stock worth $894,000 after acquiring an additional 11,053 shares during the period. Finally, BankPlus Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 106.6% during the second quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,898 shares of the company's stock valued at $500,000 after acquiring an additional 6,139 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other news, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total value of $333,000.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $583,747.98. The trade was a 36.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of the business's 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 owned 11,880 shares of the company's stock, valued at $570,834. The trade was a 80.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 111,230 shares of company stock valued at $5,288,364. 0.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on FAST shares. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Loop Capital restated a "hold" rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Stephens lifted their price target on Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Baird R W raised shares of Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 price target on Fastenal and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. One 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $46.82.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.7%

Fastenal stock opened at $47.85 on Friday. Fastenal Company has a 12 month low of $34.69 and a 12 month high of $50.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.91 billion, a PE ratio of 46.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 0.97. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.12.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 32.33%. The firm's revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.25 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Investors 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 1.8%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 84.62%.

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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