Blair William & Co. IL Has $204.45 Million Stock Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Blair William & Co. IL cut its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,253,467 shares of the company’s stock after selling 21,365 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $204,448,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of FAST. Central Valley Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 391 shares during the period. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal during the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Crewe Advisors LLC increased its position in Fastenal by 528.4% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Fastenal in the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on FAST. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $72.00 target price for the company. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $56.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 target price (down previously from $85.00) on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 15th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.43.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.68, for a total value of $3,484,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,929,734.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Fastenal news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.68, for a total transaction of $3,484,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at $19,929,734.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,489,266.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.7 %

FAST stock opened at $70.59 on Wednesday. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $53.83 and a fifty-two week high of $79.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 2.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.12, a PEG ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 1.01. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $67.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.48.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 12th. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 33.54%. Fastenal’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.61%.

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.