Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Purchased by Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC

Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC raised its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 5.8% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 21,626 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,193 shares during the period. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,359,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Central Valley Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its position in Fastenal by 2,172.2% during the first quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 409 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Crewe Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 528.4% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. 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 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $63.28 per share, with a total value of $31,640.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $221,480. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu acquired 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $63.28 per share, with a total value of $31,640.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $221,480. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total value of $3,116,996.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,489,266.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Fastenal Stock Performance

FAST opened at $65.89 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.73 billion, a PE ratio of 32.78, a PEG ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $53.83 and a twelve month high of $79.04. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $66.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.67.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 12th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.54% and a net margin of 15.54%. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 price target (down previously from $85.00) on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Friday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $72.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $56.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 15th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.43.

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.