Roberts Glore & Co. Inc. IL Grows Stock Holdings in Fastenal Company $FAST

Roberts Glore & Co. Inc. IL boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 88.8% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 18,382 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,648 shares during the quarter. Roberts Glore & Co. Inc. IL’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $772,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 87.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 34,851,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,463,743,000 after buying an additional 16,308,254 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Fastenal by 103.5% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,734,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $408,849,000 after acquiring an additional 4,950,503 shares during the last quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC increased its position in Fastenal by 94.4% during the second quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 9,298,033 shares of the company’s stock valued at $390,517,000 after acquiring an additional 4,513,985 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 107.2% in the second quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 6,822,973 shares of the company’s stock valued at $286,565,000 after acquiring an additional 3,530,339 shares during the period. Finally, Provident Trust Co. boosted its position in Fastenal by 98.9% in the second quarter. Provident Trust Co. now owns 5,379,291 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,930,000 after purchasing an additional 2,674,765 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In related news, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 16th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $42.45 per share, with a total value of $42,450.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 9,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $382,050. The trade was a 12.50% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $333,000.14. Following the completion of 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FAST has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Fastenal from $53.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Fastenal presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.50.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.2%

FAST opened at $40.85 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $46.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.92. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $45.57 and its 200 day moving average is $44.38. Fastenal Company has a fifty-two week low of $35.31 and a fifty-two week high of $50.63.

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

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 28th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. 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.