ELCO Management Co. LLC Purchases 2,815 Shares of Fastenal Company $FAST

ELCO Management Co. LLC increased its position in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 100.0% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 5,630 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,815 shares during the quarter. ELCO Management Co. LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $236,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its stake in Fastenal by 100.0% in the second quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 4,632 shares of the company’s stock worth $195,000 after purchasing an additional 2,316 shares in the last quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 105.5% during the second quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. now owns 15,582 shares of the company’s stock worth $654,000 after buying an additional 8,000 shares during the period. Redmond Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 95.1% during the second quarter. Redmond Asset Management LLC now owns 112,546 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,727,000 after buying an additional 54,859 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 124.0% during the second quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 171,592 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,207,000 after buying an additional 94,981 shares during the period. Finally, Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 75.2% during the second quarter. Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH now owns 5,396 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,000 after buying an additional 2,316 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of FAST stock opened at $41.63 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $46.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.35. The company has a market cap of $47.79 billion, a PE ratio of 38.91, a PEG ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 4.26, a quick ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Fastenal Company has a 12-month low of $35.31 and a 12-month 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.69% and a net margin of 15.34%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.26 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 28th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 28th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.24%.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In related news, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.03, for a total value of $1,662,414.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 purchased at an average cost of $42.45 per share, for a total transaction of $42,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 9,000 shares in the company, valued at $382,050. This trade represents a 12.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 90,178 shares of company stock valued at $4,336,603 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on FAST shares. Northcoast Research started coverage on Fastenal in a report on Thursday, August 21st. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Stephens upped 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. Finally, Wolfe Research restated a “positive” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.