Fastenal Company $FAST Shares Acquired by Valmark Advisers Inc.

Valmark Advisers Inc. increased its holdings in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 103.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,036 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,066 shares during the quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $254,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Patton Fund Management Inc. purchased a new position in Fastenal in the 2nd quarter valued at $229,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Fastenal by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,615,915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,753,864,000 after buying an additional 1,850,871 shares during the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its position in Fastenal by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 181,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,074,000 after buying an additional 12,721 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS grew its position in Fastenal by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 195,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,180,000 after buying an additional 7,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raiffeisen Bank International AG grew its position in Fastenal by 21.5% in the 1st quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 35,606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,712,000 after buying an additional 6,303 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

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 value of $2,341,188.20. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 11,880 shares in the company, valued at $570,834. The trade was a 80.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 111,230 shares of company stock valued at $5,288,364 over the last 90 days. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $45.78 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.02, a PEG ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 0.94. Fastenal Company has a one year low of $35.31 and a one year high of $50.63. The company’s fifty day moving average is $48.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a current ratio of 4.22.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the firm earned $0.25 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 28th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 84.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on FAST shares. Baird R W upgraded shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Wolfe Research reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Northcoast Research started coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fastenal has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.41.

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.