Fastenal Company $FAST Stock Holdings Increased by Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 177.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 44,441 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 28,418 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,867,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Fastenal by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 73,317,271 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,685,754,000 after acquiring an additional 1,016,479 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Fastenal by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,615,915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,753,864,000 after acquiring an additional 1,850,871 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,418,765 shares of the company’s stock valued at $652,875,000 after purchasing an additional 142,972 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 107.2% in the 2nd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 6,822,973 shares of the company’s stock worth $286,565,000 after buying an additional 3,530,339 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,591,850 shares of the company’s stock worth $511,198,000 after buying an additional 168,830 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.05, for a total transaction of $2,341,188.20. Following the transaction, the insider owned 11,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $570,834. The trade was a 80.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 90,178 shares of company stock worth $4,336,603. 0.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $41.96 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 4.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.22, a PEG ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $47.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.97. Fastenal Company has a 52-week low of $35.31 and a 52-week high of $50.63.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its 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). Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.69% and a net margin of 15.34%.The company had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.26 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 28th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 2.1%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 82.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAST has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price objective on Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 price objective on Fastenal and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Wolfe Research reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Fastenal from $53.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Northcoast Research initiated coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Fastenal presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.50.

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.