Valley National Advisers Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Fastenal Company $FAST

Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its position in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 99.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 53,804 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 26,797 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $2,258,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of FAST. Riverview Trust Co grew its stake in Fastenal by 100.0% during the 2nd quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 584 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank purchased a new stake in Fastenal during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. increased its holdings in Fastenal by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 696 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 348 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 95.0% during the second quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 702 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clean Yield Group boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 100.0% in the second quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 696 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.6%

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $47.88 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $54.95 billion, a PE ratio of 46.04, a P/E/G ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.94. Fastenal Company has a 52-week low of $34.69 and a 52-week high of $50.63. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $48.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.64. The company has a quick ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 4.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

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

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total transaction of $333,000.14. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,994 shares in the company, valued at $583,747.98. This represents a 36.32% 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 John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.03, for a total transaction of $1,662,414.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 111,230 shares of company stock worth $5,288,364. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on FAST shares. Loop Capital reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Fastenal from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Baird R W raised Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.82.

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.