Pflug Koory LLC Buys 5,956 Shares of Fastenal Company $FAST

Pflug Koory LLC increased its stake in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,912 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,956 shares during the quarter. Pflug Koory LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $500,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its stake in Fastenal by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 49,219 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,817,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC boosted its stake in Fastenal by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 32,992 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,559,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Fastenal by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 15,886 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,142,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in Fastenal by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 8,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $688,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its stake in Fastenal by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 6,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $487,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $47.88 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $54.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.04, a P/E/G ratio of 4.37 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 4.22, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Fastenal Company has a 1-year low of $34.69 and a 1-year high of $50.63. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $48.18 and its 200 day moving average is $43.56.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.07 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.33% and a net margin of 15.30%.Fastenal’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.25 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 29th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 29th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 84.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 21,052 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,192 shares in the company, valued at $460,780.32. This trade represents a 67.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.03, for a total value of $1,662,414.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 111,230 shares of company stock valued at $5,288,364 in the last 90 days. 0.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on FAST. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 target price on Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 price target on Fastenal and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Stephens raised their price target on Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.82.

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.