Salomon & Ludwin LLC Reduces Stock Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Salomon & Ludwin LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 36.0% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 516 shares of the company’s stock after selling 290 shares during the quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $32,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FAST. Central Valley Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Fastenal during the second quarter worth $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 2,172.2% during the 1st quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 409 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares during the period. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Fastenal during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal in the first quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FAST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Fastenal from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $56.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 target price (down from $85.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fastenal currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $66.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu acquired 500 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $63.28 per share, for a total transaction of $31,640.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $221,480. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Fastenal news, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu bought 500 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $63.28 per share, with a total value of $31,640.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $221,480. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total value of $3,116,996.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,489,266.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ FAST traded down $0.28 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $67.82. 426,949 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,536,668. The company has a market cap of $38.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 1.01. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $66.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.85. The company has a quick ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Fastenal has a one year low of $53.83 and a one year high of $79.04.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 12th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.51. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.91 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.54% and a net margin of 15.54%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.61%.

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.