Bellevue Asset Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Fastenal Company $FAST

Bellevue Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 101.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 869 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 437 shares during the quarter. Bellevue Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $37,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of FAST. Fenimore Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 101.0% in the 2nd quarter. Fenimore Asset Management Inc now owns 3,747,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $157,404,000 after purchasing an additional 1,883,419 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 8.9% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,615,915 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,753,864,000 after purchasing an additional 1,850,871 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the second quarter worth $73,733,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 97.5% during the second quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 3,280,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $137,760,000 after purchasing an additional 1,619,507 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the first quarter worth $119,136,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other news, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total value of $333,000.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 11,994 shares in the company, valued at $583,747.98. This trade represents a 36.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 21,052 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.21, for a total value of $951,760.92. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $460,780.32. This trade represents a 67.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 111,230 shares of company stock valued at $5,288,364 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $47.45 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.22 and a quick ratio of 2.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.94. Fastenal Company has a 1-year low of $34.69 and a 1-year high of $50.63. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $48.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.74.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.01. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.33% and a net margin of 15.30%.The company had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.25 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 29th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 29th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 84.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on FAST. Loop Capital reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 target price on Fastenal and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Stephens lifted their target price on Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 target price on Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded Fastenal from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $55.00 in a report on Thursday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.41.

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.