Ethic Inc. Increases Holdings in Fastenal Company $FAST

Ethic Inc. lifted its position in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 108.1% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 189,177 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 98,270 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $7,938,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of FAST. Riverview Trust Co grew its position in Fastenal by 100.0% during the 2nd quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 584 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank bought a new position in Fastenal during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC grew its position in Fastenal by 111.9% during the 2nd quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 642 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. grew its position in Fastenal by 100.0% during the 2nd quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 696 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 95.0% in the 2nd quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 702 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on FAST. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 price objective on Fastenal and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Stephens lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Fastenal from $53.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Northcoast Research began coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 16th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $42.45 per share, for a total transaction of $42,450.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 9,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $382,050. This represents a 12.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total value of $333,000.14. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 11,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $583,747.98. The trade was a 36.32% decrease in their position. 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 three months. 0.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Fastenal Trading Down 1.7%

FAST opened at $42.60 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $48.91 billion, a PE ratio of 39.81, a PEG ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 2.19, a current ratio of 4.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The business has a 50 day moving average of $47.50 and a 200-day moving average of $44.09. Fastenal Company has a 52 week low of $35.31 and a 52 week high of $50.63.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released 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). The firm had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.13 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.34% and a return on equity of 32.69%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.26 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 28th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is presently 82.24%.

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.