KPP Advisory Services LLC Raises Holdings in Fastenal Company $FAST

KPP Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 99.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,154 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 8,038 shares during the period. KPP Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $678,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA increased its stake in Fastenal by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 21,930 shares of the company’s stock valued at $921,000 after purchasing an additional 10,965 shares in the last quarter. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI increased its stake in Fastenal by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI now owns 26,102 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,096,000 after purchasing an additional 13,051 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Fastenal in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $819,000. Principle Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Fastenal by 104.7% in the 2nd quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC now owns 6,754 shares of the company’s stock valued at $284,000 after purchasing an additional 3,454 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC increased its stake in Fastenal by 92.5% in the 2nd quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC now owns 871,067 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,585,000 after purchasing an additional 418,527 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of Fastenal stock opened at $42.99 on Friday. Fastenal Company has a twelve month low of $35.31 and a twelve month high of $50.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.18, a PEG ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 4.26, a quick ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $47.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $44.14.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 13th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.01). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.34% and a return on equity of 32.69%. The firm had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.26 EPS. Fastenal’s revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 28th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 28th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.24%.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other news, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu bought 1,000 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $42.45 per share, for a total transaction of $42,450.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 9,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $382,050. The trade was a 12.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 11,880 shares in the company, valued at $570,834. The trade was a 80.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 90,178 shares of company stock worth $4,336,603 over the last ninety days. 0.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FAST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Northcoast Research began coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price target on Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Baird R W raised Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.50.

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.