Fastenal Company $FAST Shares Bought by Bellevue Asset Management LLC

Bellevue Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 101.2% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 869 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 437 shares during the period. Bellevue Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $37,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its holdings in Fastenal by 0.3% during the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 49,219 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,817,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC grew its holdings in Fastenal by 0.4% during the first quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 32,992 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,559,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Fastenal by 0.9% during the first quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 15,886 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,142,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Fastenal by 1.7% during the first quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 8,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $688,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the period. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its holdings in Fastenal by 2.4% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 6,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $487,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other news, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 11,994 shares in the company, valued at $583,747.98. This trade represents a 36.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 21,052 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.21, for a total value of $951,760.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 10,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $460,780.32. This trade represents a 67.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 111,230 shares of company stock worth $5,288,364. 0.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on FAST. Stephens raised their target price on Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Barclays began coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “positive” rating on the stock. 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 report on Thursday, September 4th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price target on Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Wolfe Research reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 14th. One 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.41.

Fastenal Stock Performance

NASDAQ FAST opened at $47.45 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $54.46 billion, a PE ratio of 45.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $48.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.74. Fastenal Company has a 1-year low of $34.69 and a 1-year high of $50.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.22 and a quick ratio of 2.12.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.07 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.33% and a net margin of 15.30%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.25 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th were given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 29th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 84.62%.

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.