Griffin Asset Management Inc. Acquires 17,039 Shares of Fastenal Company $FAST

Griffin Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 100.0% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 34,078 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 17,039 shares during the period. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,431,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of FAST. Blair William & Co. IL raised its holdings in Fastenal by 107.2% during the second quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 6,822,973 shares of the company’s stock valued at $286,565,000 after acquiring an additional 3,530,339 shares during the period. Fenimore Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 101.0% in the second quarter. Fenimore Asset Management Inc now owns 3,747,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $157,404,000 after purchasing an additional 1,883,419 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 8.9% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,615,915 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,753,864,000 after purchasing an additional 1,850,871 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the second quarter worth about $73,733,000. Finally, Confluence Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 97.5% in 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 during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Fastenal Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $45.78 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $48.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.22 and a quick ratio of 2.12. Fastenal Company has a 1-year low of $35.31 and a 1-year high of $50.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.02, a PEG ratio of 4.15 and a beta of 0.94.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.25 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 28th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 84.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird raised Fastenal from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $55.00 in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Stephens lifted their target price on Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 14th. Barclays initiated coverage on Fastenal in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. They issued a “positive” rating and a $49.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Northcoast Research initiated coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. One investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.41.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 11,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $583,747.98. This represents a 36.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 21,052 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.21, for a total value of $951,760.92. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $460,780.32. This represents a 67.38% decrease in their position. 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.

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.