Stiles Financial Services Inc Increases Holdings in Fastenal Company $FAST

Stiles Financial Services Inc raised its stake in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 95.5% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 107,028 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 52,276 shares during the quarter. Fastenal makes up about 1.6% of Stiles Financial Services Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Stiles Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $4,495,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 4th quarter worth $496,000. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 1st quarter worth $215,000. Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 14.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,525 shares of the company’s stock worth $273,000 after purchasing an additional 449 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 103.5% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 14,564 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,130,000 after purchasing an additional 7,407 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 11.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 21,847 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,694,000 after purchasing an additional 2,240 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fastenal Stock Down 1.8%

FAST opened at $46.71 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.82. Fastenal Company has a 52 week low of $34.94 and a 52 week high of $50.63. The company has a market capitalization of $53.61 billion, a PE ratio of 44.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 4.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.01. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 32.33%. The business had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.25 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In related news, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.03, for a total value of $1,662,414.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.05, for a total transaction of $2,341,188.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 11,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $570,834. The trade was a 80.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 111,230 shares of company stock worth $5,288,364 in the last 90 days. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FAST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Fastenal from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $47.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Baird R W upgraded Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Stephens increased their price target on Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price target on Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.41.

Fastenal 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.