Fidelis Capital Partners LLC Raises Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 19.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,162 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,134 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,245,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Fastenal Price Performance

FAST stock opened at $70.75 on Friday. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $53.83 and a 52-week high of $79.04. The company has a quick ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a market cap of $40.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a fifty day moving average of $68.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.45.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 12th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting 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 net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 33.54%. Fastenal’s revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th were issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fastenal news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.68, for a total transaction of $3,484,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at $19,929,734.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Fastenal news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total transaction of $3,116,996.16. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.