F M Investments LLC Makes New $1.91 Million Investment in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

F M Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 30,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,911,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MCF Advisors LLC grew its stake in Fastenal by 2,172.2% during the 1st quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 1st quarter worth $39,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the second quarter valued at about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu acquired 500 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $63.28 per share, for a total transaction of $31,640.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $221,480. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,489,266.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu acquired 500 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,500 shares in the company, valued at $221,480. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Fastenal Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ FAST traded up $0.78 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $68.28. The company had a trading volume of 2,563,835 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,501,045. Fastenal has a 1-year low of $53.83 and a 1-year high of $79.04. The company has a market capitalization of $39.09 billion, a PE ratio of 33.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 2.29. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $66.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.82.

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

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.