13,824 Shares in Fastenal Company $FAST Bought by Proficio Capital Partners LLC

Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 13,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $664,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth approximately $496,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its position in Fastenal by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 6,276 shares of the company’s stock valued at $487,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $158,000. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,199,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC boosted its position in Fastenal by 111.0% during the 2nd quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 3,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,000 after acquiring an additional 1,771 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fastenal Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of Fastenal stock opened at $47.93 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.55. Fastenal Company has a fifty-two week low of $38.97 and a fifty-two week high of $52.92. The firm has a market cap of $55.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 4.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33. Fastenal had a return on equity of 34.03% and a net margin of 15.45%.The firm had revenue of $2.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.29 earnings per share. Fastenal’s revenue was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Fastenal Company will post 1.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 28th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 28th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 88.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised Fastenal from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, June 4th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $46.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Fastenal from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research restated an “underperform” rating and set a $47.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Michael J. Ancius sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.00, for a total transaction of $147,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 58,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,875,810. This trade represents a 4.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Rita J. Heise sold 34,964 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.05, for a total value of $1,749,948.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,001,000. The trade was a 63.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

About Fastenal

Fastenal (NASDAQ: FAST) is a wholesale distributor of industrial and construction supplies, best known for its broad assortment of fasteners such as bolts, nuts, screws and anchors. Founded in Winona, Minnesota, Fastenal has grown from a regional supplier into a national and international distributor serving a wide range of end markets, including manufacturing, construction, maintenance, repair and operations (MRO), and government customers. The company is publicly traded and operates through a network of locally staffed branches combined with national distribution capabilities.

Product offerings extend beyond fasteners to include tools, safety and personal protective equipment, power transmission components, cutting and welding supplies, janitorial and material handling items, and other industrial consumables.