Fastenal Company $FAST Shares Purchased by Peterson Wealth Services

Peterson Wealth Services raised its stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 101.0% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,893 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,454 shares during the quarter. Peterson Wealth Services’ holdings in Fastenal were worth $121,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in FAST. Cantillon Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 94.4% in the second quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 9,298,033 shares of the company’s stock valued at $390,517,000 after purchasing an additional 4,513,985 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 107.2% in the second 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 during the period. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 90.0% in the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 4,934,558 shares of the company’s stock valued at $207,251,000 after purchasing an additional 2,337,187 shares during the last quarter. Fenimore Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Fastenal by 101.0% during the second quarter. Fenimore Asset Management Inc now owns 3,747,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $157,404,000 after buying an additional 1,883,419 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,615,915 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,753,864,000 after purchasing an additional 1,850,871 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays set a $45.00 price target on Fastenal and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Stephens lifted their target price on Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Loop Capital reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.50.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST opened at $42.87 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $47.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.26 and a quick ratio of 2.19. Fastenal Company has a 1 year low of $35.31 and a 1 year high of $50.63.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.34% and a return on equity of 32.69%. The business’s revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.26 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 28th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is presently 82.24%.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.05, for a total transaction of $2,341,188.20. Following the sale, the insider owned 11,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $570,834. The trade was a 80.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $42.45 per share, for a total transaction of $42,450.00. Following 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 90,178 shares of company stock worth $4,336,603. Corporate 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.