Fastenal Company $FAST Shares Acquired by D.A. Davidson & CO.

D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 124.9% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 65,615 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 36,439 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $2,756,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its stake in Fastenal by 115.6% during the second quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 338,061 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,199,000 after purchasing an additional 181,281 shares during the last quarter. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Fastenal by 72.6% during the second quarter. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 6,905 shares of the company’s stock valued at $290,000 after purchasing an additional 2,905 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal during the second quarter valued at approximately $327,000. TLW Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal during the second quarter valued at approximately $699,000. Finally, Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in Fastenal by 99.9% during the second quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,113,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,771,000 after purchasing an additional 556,600 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu acquired 1,000 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 16th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $42.45 per share, with a total value of $42,450.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 9,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $382,050. This trade represents a 12.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 11,880 shares in the company, valued at $570,834. The trade was a 80.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 90,178 shares of company stock worth $4,336,603. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Saturday. Wolfe Research restated a “positive” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Baird R W upgraded shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Barclays set a $45.00 price target on shares of Fastenal and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.50.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST opened at $42.87 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $47.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 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 quick ratio of 2.19, a current ratio of 4.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

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

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.24%.

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.