PDS Planning Inc Has $327,000 Stake in Fastenal Company $FAST

PDS Planning Inc raised its position in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 122.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,790 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,286 shares during the quarter. PDS Planning Inc’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $327,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Riverview Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 584 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the period. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 95.0% in the 2nd quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the period. Finally, Clean Yield Group raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.05, for a total transaction of $2,341,188.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 11,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $570,834. This trade represents a 80.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible 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 stock was 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 ninety days, insiders have sold 111,230 shares of company stock worth $5,288,364. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on FAST. Loop Capital restated a “hold” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Barclays began coverage on Fastenal in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. They issued a “positive” rating and a $49.00 price objective for the company. Stephens raised their price objective on 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 Fastenal from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $55.00 in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price objective on Fastenal in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.41.

Fastenal Trading Down 2.0%

Fastenal stock opened at $45.78 on Monday. Fastenal Company has a 52 week low of $35.31 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 stock has a market capitalization of $52.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.02, a PEG ratio of 4.15 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.94.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.01. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.33% and a net margin of 15.30%.The business had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.25 earnings per share. Fastenal’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 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.