&Partners Grows Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

&Partners raised its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 18.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,427 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,770 shares during the quarter. &Partners’ holdings in Fastenal were worth $718,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 8,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $553,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 13,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,030,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 19,095 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,237,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. Sara Bay Financial raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sara Bay Financial now owns 11,872 shares of the company’s stock valued at $746,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. Finally, Team Hewins LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Team Hewins LLC now owns 3,404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $263,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total value of $3,116,996.16. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at $19,489,266.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Fastenal news, EVP James C. Jansen sold 11,428 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total value of $732,191.96. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,176 shares in the company, valued at $1,677,096.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total transaction of $3,116,996.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,489,266.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Fastenal Stock Performance

NASDAQ FAST traded up $0.92 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $68.43. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 374,429 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,549,232. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $66.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $68.87. Fastenal has a 52 week low of $53.83 and a 52 week high of $79.04. The stock has a market cap of $39.18 billion, a PE ratio of 33.59, a PEG ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 1.01.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 12th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.51. The firm had revenue of $1.92 billion for 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 26th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 77.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Fastenal from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price objective (down previously from $85.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $56.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $66.67.

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.