Berger Financial Group Inc Has $653,000 Position in Fastenal Company $FAST

Berger Financial Group Inc increased its holdings in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 74.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,541 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,635 shares during the period. Berger Financial Group Inc’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $653,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Riverview Trust Co grew its position in Fastenal by 100.0% during the 2nd quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 584 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new position in Fastenal in the second quarter worth $27,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 100.0% in the second quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 95.0% in the second quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clean Yield Group raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 100.0% in the second quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In related news, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total value of $333,000.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $583,747.98. This trade represents a 36.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.03, for a total value of $1,662,414.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 111,230 shares of company stock worth $5,288,364. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Wolfe Research reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 target price on shares of Fastenal and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Stephens raised their price target on shares of Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Fastenal from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.82.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of FAST opened at $47.88 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.64. Fastenal Company has a 52-week low of $34.69 and a 52-week high of $50.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a current ratio of 4.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.95 billion, a PE ratio of 46.04, a P/E/G ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.94.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.07 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 32.33%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.25 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS 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 paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 29th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 84.62%.

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.