Roberts Glore & Co. Inc. IL Invests $892,000 in Fastenal Company $FAST

Roberts Glore & Co. Inc. IL bought a new position in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 18,573 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $892,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Palladiem LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Evergreen Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other news, Director Rita J. Heise sold 34,964 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.05, for a total value of $1,749,948.20. Following the sale, the director directly owned 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,001,000. This represents a 63.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Ancius sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.00, for a total transaction of $147,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 58,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,875,810. The trade was a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FAST has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings cut Fastenal from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $55.00 target price on Fastenal and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Fastenal from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $47.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.17.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Fastenal stock opened at $50.31 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $48.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a current ratio of 4.18. The stock has a market cap of $57.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.64, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.72. Fastenal Company has a fifty-two week low of $38.97 and a fifty-two week high of $52.92.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.33. The firm had revenue of $2.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 34.03% and a net margin of 15.45%.The business’s revenue was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.29 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 1.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 28th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 88.14%.

Fastenal Profile

Fastenal (NASDAQ: FAST) is a wholesale distributor of industrial and construction supplies, best known for its broad assortment of fasteners such as bolts, nuts, screws and anchors. Founded in Winona, Minnesota, Fastenal has grown from a regional supplier into a national and international distributor serving a wide range of end markets, including manufacturing, construction, maintenance, repair and operations (MRO), and government customers. The company is publicly traded and operates through a network of locally staffed branches combined with national distribution capabilities.

Product offerings extend beyond fasteners to include tools, safety and personal protective equipment, power transmission components, cutting and welding supplies, janitorial and material handling items, and other industrial consumables.