Grandfield & Dodd LLC Makes New $2.51 Million Investment in Fastenal Company $FAST

Grandfield & Dodd LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 52,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,509,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. B & T Capital Management DBA Alpha Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 2nd quarter valued at $6,557,000. Paladin Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal in the second quarter worth approximately $39,000. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 2nd quarter valued at $5,105,454,000. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal during the second quarter valued at $222,000. Finally, Panoramic Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 2nd quarter valued at about $234,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $46.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $47.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Fastenal from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.17.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Fastenal stock opened at $51.23 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $47.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.17. Fastenal Company has a fifty-two week low of $38.97 and a fifty-two week high of $52.92. 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 $58.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.72.

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

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 28th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 88.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

About Fastenal

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.