Lafayette Investments Inc. Increases Stake in Fastenal Company $FAST

Lafayette Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 6,904 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,452 shares during the period. Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $290,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Riverview Trust Co raised its position in Fastenal by 100.0% during the second quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 584 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank purchased a new position in Fastenal during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC raised its position in Fastenal by 111.9% during the second quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. grew its holdings in Fastenal by 100.0% in the second quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the period. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its holdings in Fastenal by 95.0% in the second quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In related news, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total value of $333,000.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $583,747.98. The trade was a 36.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.03, for a total value of $1,662,414.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 90,178 shares of company stock worth $4,336,603 over the last quarter. 0.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on FAST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price target on Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Stephens lifted 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. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Fastenal from $53.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, July 14th. One equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.50.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of Fastenal stock opened at $42.99 on Tuesday. Fastenal Company has a one year low of $35.31 and a one year high of $50.63. The company has a market cap of $49.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.18, a PEG ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.19 and a current ratio of 4.26. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $47.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $44.11.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 13th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.01). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.34% and a return on equity of 32.69%. The business had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.13 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.26 EPS. Fastenal’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 28th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 28th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 82.24%.

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.