Fairscale Capital LLC Takes Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 19.6% in the second quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 19,162 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,245,000 after buying an additional 3,134 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lifted its stake in Fastenal by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 2,032,818 shares of the company’s stock worth $127,742,000 after acquiring an additional 90,071 shares in the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC boosted its position in Fastenal by 74,303.6% during the 2nd quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 20,833 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,309,000 after acquiring an additional 20,805 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in Fastenal by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 3,190,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $200,506,000 after acquiring an additional 91,411 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 14.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 1,082,002 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,993,000 after purchasing an additional 135,480 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FAST has been the subject of several research reports. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $56.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price objective (down previously from $85.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.43.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,929,734.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing 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 value of $3,116,996.16. Following the completion of 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. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST opened at $70.75 on Monday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $40.51 billion, a PE ratio of 35.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 1.01. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $53.83 and a 1 year high of $79.04. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $68.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.41.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 12th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.51. The company had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.91 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.54% and a net margin of 15.54%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. Analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.