Leavell Investment Management Inc. Boosts Stake in Fastenal Company $FAST

Leavell Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 100.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 43,858 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,929 shares during the quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,842,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CVA Family Office LLC grew its stake in Fastenal by 98.5% in the second quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,757 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 872 shares during the period. B & T Capital Management DBA Alpha Capital Management lifted its position in Fastenal by 98.2% during the second quarter. B & T Capital Management DBA Alpha Capital Management now owns 135,022 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,671,000 after buying an additional 66,881 shares during the period. Hartford Financial Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 108.2% during the 2nd quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 939 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 99.9% in the 2nd quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC now owns 9,740 shares of the company’s stock worth $409,000 after buying an additional 4,868 shares during the period. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 376,298 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,805,000 after acquiring an additional 188,149 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on FAST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Loop Capital reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price target on Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Wolfe Research reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Saturday. One 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.50.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.3%

FAST stock opened at $42.87 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.26 and a quick ratio of 2.19. Fastenal Company has a 1-year low of $35.31 and a 1-year high of $50.63. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $47.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $44.25.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 13th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.01). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.34% and a return on equity of 32.69%. The business had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.13 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.26 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 28th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is presently 82.24%.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In related news, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 16th. The shares were bought at an average price of $42.45 per share, for a total transaction of $42,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 9,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $382,050. This trade represents 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 accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of Fastenal 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $583,747.98. This trade represents a 36.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 90,178 shares of company stock worth $4,336,603 in the last three months. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.