182,184 Shares in Fastenal Company $FAST Purchased by Sanctuary Advisors LLC

Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 182,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,750,000.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $47.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $46.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Fastenal presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.17.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $51.28 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $48.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.46, a PEG ratio of 3.20 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 Company has a 52-week low of $38.97 and a 52-week high of $52.92.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.33. Fastenal had a return on equity of 34.03% and a net margin of 15.45%.The business had revenue of $2.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.29 earnings per share. Fastenal’s revenue was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Fastenal Company will post 1.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 28th. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is 88.14%.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other news, Director Michael J. Ancius sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.00, for a total transaction of $147,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 58,690 shares in the company, valued at $2,875,810. The trade was a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Rita J. Heise sold 34,964 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.05, for a total transaction of $1,749,948.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,001,000. This trade represents a 63.61% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Profile

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.