Sandy Cove Advisors LLC Invests $923,000 in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Sandy Cove Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 11,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $923,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 104.6% in the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $140,000 after purchasing an additional 1,313 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its position in Fastenal by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 266,222 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,546,000 after acquiring an additional 985 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 16.3% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 17,297 shares of the company’s stock worth $945,000 after purchasing an additional 2,425 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 77.0% during the third quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 48,940 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,674,000 after purchasing an additional 21,292 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 88.5% in the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 93,646 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,117,000 after purchasing an additional 43,975 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of Fastenal stock traded down $0.49 on Friday, reaching $62.84. 5,921,891 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,313,607. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a current ratio of 4.83. Fastenal has a one year low of $53.83 and a one year high of $79.04. The firm has a market cap of $35.98 billion, a PE ratio of 31.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 1.02. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $65.84 and its 200-day moving average is $68.62.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.01). Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.98% and a net margin of 15.68%. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 25th were paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 24th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.48%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 77.23%.

Insider Activity

In other Fastenal news, EVP James C. Jansen sold 11,428 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total value of $732,191.96. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,677,096.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP James C. Jansen sold 11,428 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total transaction of $732,191.96. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,677,096.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu purchased 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $63.28 per share, for a total transaction of $31,640.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,500 shares in the company, valued at $221,480. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. HSBC upped their price target on Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $68.80.

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.