HighTower Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST – Free Report) by 6.4% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 340,317 shares of the company’s stock after selling 23,391 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $16,345,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Palladiem LLC purchased a new position in Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Evergreen Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal during the first quarter worth $26,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal during the second quarter worth $26,000. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several research firms have weighed in on FAST. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 price target on Fastenal in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $55.00 target price on shares of Fastenal and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Friday, September 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.17.
Fastenal Price Performance
FAST stock opened at $48.79 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 4.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Fastenal Company has a 52-week low of $38.97 and a 52-week high of $52.92. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $48.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.66.
Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.33. Fastenal had a return on equity of 34.03% and a net margin of 15.45%.The firm had revenue of $2.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.29 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 1.26 EPS for the current year.
Fastenal Increases Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 28th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 88.14%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, Director Michael J. Ancius sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.00, for a total transaction of $147,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 58,690 shares in the company, valued at $2,875,810. This represents a 4.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Rita Heise sold 34,964 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.05, for a total value of $1,749,948.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,001,000. This trade represents a 63.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
About Fastenal
Fastenal Company (NASDAQ: FAST) is a distributor of industrial and construction supplies. The company provides fasteners such as bolts, nuts, screws and related hardware, along with safety products, tools, material-handling equipment, welding supplies, janitorial products and other maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) materials.
Fastenal serves manufacturers, construction companies, contractors, government organizations and other commercial customers. Its offerings are delivered through a network of branch locations, customer-specific onsite operations, industrial vending machines, e-commerce platforms and other supply-chain services designed to help customers manage inventory and reduce procurement time.
Founded in 1967 by Bob Kierlin in Winona, Minnesota, Fastenal has expanded from a regional fastener supplier into an international industrial distributor.
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