Pflug Koory LLC Acquires 5,956 Shares of Fastenal Company $FAST

Pflug Koory LLC raised its holdings in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 100.0% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 11,912 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,956 shares during the quarter. Pflug Koory LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $500,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 122.6% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 129,586 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,443,000 after buying an additional 71,383 shares during the last quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 105.8% in the 2nd quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 24,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,025,000 after buying an additional 12,542 shares during the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 108.1% in the 2nd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 74,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,134,000 after buying an additional 38,765 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, HighMark Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 106.1% in the 2nd quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,287 shares of the company’s stock worth $180,000 after buying an additional 2,207 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.6%

Fastenal stock opened at $47.88 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 4.22, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $48.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.56. Fastenal Company has a 12 month low of $34.69 and a 12 month high of $50.63. The company has a market capitalization of $54.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.37 and a beta of 0.94.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.01. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.33% and a net margin of 15.30%.The business had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.25 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th were paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 29th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 84.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FAST has been the topic of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price target on Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Robert W. Baird upgraded Fastenal from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $47.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 price target on Fastenal and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Loop Capital restated a “hold” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.82.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.05, for a total value of $2,341,188.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 11,880 shares in the company, valued at $570,834. The trade was a 80.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total value of $333,000.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $583,747.98. This trade represents a 36.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 111,230 shares of company stock worth $5,288,364 over the last three months. Company 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.