Confluence Investment Management LLC Has $137.76 Million Holdings in Fastenal Company $FAST

Confluence Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 97.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,280,009 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,619,507 shares during the period. Fastenal makes up approximately 1.9% of Confluence Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Confluence Investment Management LLC owned about 0.29% of Fastenal worth $137,760,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Park National Corp OH grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 95.4% during the second quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 9,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $396,000 after purchasing an additional 4,610 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in Fastenal by 100.0% in the second quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 41,762 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,754,000 after acquiring an additional 20,880 shares during the period. Rowlandmiller & PARTNERS.ADV grew its stake in Fastenal by 100.0% in the second quarter. Rowlandmiller & PARTNERS.ADV now owns 14,454 shares of the company’s stock valued at $607,000 after acquiring an additional 7,227 shares during the period. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs acquired a new position in Fastenal in the first quarter valued at about $3,507,000. Finally, 1248 Management LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal in the first quarter valued at about $45,000. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total transaction of $333,000.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $583,747.98. This represents a 36.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 21,052 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.21, for a total value of $951,760.92. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 10,192 shares in the company, valued at $460,780.32. The trade was a 67.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 111,230 shares of company stock worth $5,288,364. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FAST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Baird R W raised Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Loop Capital reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 target price on Fastenal and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Robert W. Baird raised Fastenal from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $47.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.82.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.3%

FAST stock opened at $47.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.22 and a quick ratio of 2.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.63, a P/E/G ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a 50-day moving average of $47.42 and a 200-day moving average of $42.54. Fastenal Company has a fifty-two week low of $34.67 and a fifty-two week high of $50.63.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.07 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.33% and a net margin of 15.30%.Fastenal’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.25 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 29th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 29th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 84.62%.

Fastenal Company 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.