Fastenal Company $FAST Shares Acquired by Focus Financial Network Inc.

Focus Financial Network Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 124.8% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 18,624 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 10,341 shares during the period. Focus Financial Network Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $782,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in FAST. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,615,915 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,753,864,000 after buying an additional 1,850,871 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 8,541.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,694,235 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,388,000 after purchasing an additional 1,674,628 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 97.5% during the second quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 3,280,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $137,760,000 after purchasing an additional 1,619,507 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the first quarter worth approximately $119,136,000. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 266.4% during the first quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,824,055 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,455,000 after purchasing an additional 1,326,260 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.05, for a total transaction of $2,341,188.20. Following the transaction, the insider owned 11,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $570,834. This represents a 80.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total value of $333,000.14. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 11,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $583,747.98. The trade was a 36.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 111,230 shares of company stock worth $5,288,364. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST opened at $47.58 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 4.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The business has a fifty day moving average of $47.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.89. The stock has a market cap of $54.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.75, a PEG ratio of 4.29 and a beta of 0.97. Fastenal Company has a 52-week low of $34.69 and a 52-week high of $50.63.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.07 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.33% and a net margin of 15.30%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.25 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current 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. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 29th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is 84.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on FAST. Loop Capital reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Fastenal from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $47.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Baird R W upgraded Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 price target on Fastenal and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.82.

About Fastenal

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.