InterOcean Capital Group LLC Purchases 251 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

InterOcean Capital Group LLC grew its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 6.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,976 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 251 shares during the quarter. InterOcean Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $307,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Hartford Financial Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 46.9% in the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 479 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in Fastenal by 2,172.2% during the first quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 409 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. purchased a new stake in Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 283.2% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 755 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fastenal Trading Up 2.6 %

Fastenal stock traded up $1.75 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $69.06. The company had a trading volume of 3,230,962 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,716,966. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 4.39. The firm has a market cap of $39.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.14, a P/E/G ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $65.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.77. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $53.83 and a 1 year high of $79.04.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 12th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51. The firm had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.54% and a net margin of 15.54%. Fastenal’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 25th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.61%.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, EVP James C. Jansen sold 11,428 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total transaction of $732,191.96. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,176 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,677,096.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu bought 500 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $63.28 per share, for a total transaction of $31,640.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $221,480. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP James C. Jansen sold 11,428 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total transaction of $732,191.96. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,176 shares in the company, valued at $1,677,096.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on FAST. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price target (down previously from $85.00) on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 15th. Loop Capital dropped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $56.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 15th. HSBC raised their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $66.67.

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.