Valeo Financial Advisors LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Fastenal Company $FAST

Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 94.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,358 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,863 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Fastenal were worth $855,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in FAST. Riverview Trust Co grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 100.0% in the second quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 584 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the period. Hilltop National Bank purchased a new stake in Fastenal during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. grew its position in Fastenal by 100.0% during the second quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 696 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its position in Fastenal by 95.0% during the second quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 702 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares during the period. Finally, Clean Yield Group grew its position in Fastenal by 100.0% during the second quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 696 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.03, for a total value of $1,662,414.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total value of $333,000.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 11,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $583,747.98. This trade represents a 36.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 111,230 shares of company stock worth $5,288,364. 0.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on FAST. 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. Northcoast Research began coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Wolfe Research reissued a "positive" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Stephens boosted their price target on Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Loop Capital reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $47.41.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $47.55 on Thursday. Fastenal Company has a 1-year low of $34.69 and a 1-year high of $50.63. The business has a 50-day moving average of $48.24 and a 200-day moving average of $43.76. 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 company has a market capitalization of $54.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.72, a PEG ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 0.94.

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

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The firm 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 was Tuesday, July 29th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Fastenal's payout ratio is 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.

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