Richwood Investment Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in Fastenal Company $FAST

Richwood Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 104.3% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 9,373 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,786 shares during the period. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $394,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its stake in Fastenal by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 49,219 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,817,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC raised its stake in Fastenal by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 32,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,559,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. raised its stake in Fastenal by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 15,886 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,142,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in Fastenal by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 8,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $688,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its stake in Fastenal by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 6,276 shares of the company’s stock valued at $487,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of FAST opened at $47.78 on Tuesday. Fastenal Company has a 52-week low of $34.69 and a 52-week high of $50.63. The company has a market capitalization of $54.83 billion, a PE ratio of 45.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.71. 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 issued its earnings results on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.01. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.33% and a net margin of 15.30%.The business had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.07 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.25 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 29th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 29th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 84.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on FAST. Stephens increased their price objective on Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Robert W. Baird raised Fastenal from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 target price on Fastenal and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Fastenal presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.