Rowlandmiller & PARTNERS.ADV Increases Stake in Fastenal Company $FAST

Rowlandmiller & PARTNERS.ADV increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 100.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,454 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 7,227 shares during the period. Rowlandmiller & PARTNERS.ADV’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $607,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its stake in Fastenal by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 49,219 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,817,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC increased its stake in Fastenal by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 32,992 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,559,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 15,886 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,142,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $698,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Essex Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 8,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $688,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FAST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Wolfe Research reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Stephens increased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.82.

Fastenal Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Fastenal stock opened at $47.45 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.54. Fastenal Company has a 12-month low of $34.67 and a 12-month high of $50.63. The company has a current ratio of 4.22, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market cap of $54.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.63, a PEG ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 0.97.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.25 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th were issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 29th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 84.62%.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In related news, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.05, for a total transaction of $2,341,188.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 11,880 shares in the company, valued at $570,834. This represents a 80.40% 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, CFO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 21,052 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.21, for a total transaction of $951,760.92. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 10,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $460,780.32. This represents a 67.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 111,230 shares of company stock worth $5,288,364. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

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.