Fastenal Company $FAST Shares Acquired by Grandfield & Dodd LLC

Grandfield & Dodd LLC increased its stake in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 53,100 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,550 shares during the period. Grandfield & Dodd LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $2,230,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 4th quarter worth $496,000. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 4.5% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 28,352 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,199,000 after acquiring an additional 1,219 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in Fastenal by 19.7% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 8,568 shares of the company’s stock worth $664,000 after purchasing an additional 1,408 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Fastenal by 20.2% in the first quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,502,000 after purchasing an additional 3,257 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its position in Fastenal by 29.2% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 6,010 shares of the company’s stock valued at $466,000 after purchasing an additional 1,357 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other news, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $42.45 per share, with a total value of $42,450.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 9,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $382,050. This trade represents a 12.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on FAST shares. Wolfe Research upgraded Fastenal from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating and set a $43.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Baird R W raised shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.32.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $40.75 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $44.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.37. The company has a market capitalization of $46.78 billion, a PE ratio of 38.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.92. Fastenal Company has a 12-month low of $35.31 and a 12-month high of $50.63. 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 (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.69% and a net margin of 15.34%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.26 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 28th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is presently 82.24%.

Fastenal Profile

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.