Princeton Global Asset Management LLC Buys New Stake in Fastenal Company $FAST

Princeton Global Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 0.3% during the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 49,219 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,817,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 32,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,559,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 15,886 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,142,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 8,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $688,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 2.4% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 6,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $487,000 after buying an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the insider directly owned 11,880 shares in the company, valued at $570,834. This trade represents a 80.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated 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. Insiders sold a total of 90,178 shares of company stock valued at $4,336,603 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $42.99 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.26 and a quick ratio of 2.19. Fastenal Company has a 1-year low of $35.31 and a 1-year high of $50.63. The company has a market capitalization of $49.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.18, a PEG ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a 50-day moving average of $47.74 and a 200-day moving average of $44.11.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 13th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.13 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.34% and a return on equity of 32.69%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.26 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 28th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 28th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is 82.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 price target on Fastenal and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Loop Capital reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.50.

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.