Stephens Investment Management Group LLC Has $18.98 Million Stock Position in Fastenal Company $FAST

Stephens Investment Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 88.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 451,992 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 211,565 shares during the quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $18,984,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Riverview Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 100.0% during the second quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 584 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 111.9% during the second quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 100.0% during the second quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 95.0% during the second quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on FAST. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $53.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Northcoast Research began coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Baird R W raised shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.50.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST opened at $42.60 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $47.50 and a 200 day moving average of $44.09. The stock has a market cap of $48.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.94. Fastenal Company has a 12 month low of $35.31 and a 12 month high of $50.63. The company has a current ratio of 4.26, a quick ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 13th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.01). The firm 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%. Fastenal’s revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.26 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 28th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 82.24%.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.05, for a total transaction of $2,341,188.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 11,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $570,834. This represents a 80.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 90,178 shares of company stock worth $4,336,603 in the last 90 days. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.