Wendell David Associates Inc. Purchases 39,200 Shares of Fastenal Company $FAST

Wendell David Associates Inc. increased its position in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 100.0% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 78,400 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 39,200 shares during the period. Wendell David Associates Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $3,293,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FAST. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at $496,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Fastenal by 11.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 21,847 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,694,000 after purchasing an additional 2,240 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Fastenal by 55.4% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 364,694 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,282,000 after purchasing an additional 130,071 shares in the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Fastenal by 10.9% in the first quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $324,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its stake in Fastenal by 17.6% in the first quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 3,336 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Fastenal Stock Up 1.2%

Fastenal stock opened at $42.46 on Friday. Fastenal Company has a fifty-two week low of $35.31 and a fifty-two week high of $50.63. The stock has a market cap of $48.73 billion, a PE ratio of 39.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.94. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $47.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a current ratio of 4.26.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 13th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.01). Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.69% and a net margin of 15.34%.The firm had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.26 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 target price on shares of Fastenal and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Baird R W raised shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Northcoast Research started coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.05, for a total transaction of $2,341,188.20. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 11,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total transaction of $333,000.14. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 11,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $583,747.98. This trade represents a 36.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 90,178 shares of company stock valued at $4,336,603 in the last three months. 0.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.