Roberts Glore & Co. Inc. IL Takes Position in Fastenal Company $FAST

Roberts Glore & Co. Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 18,573 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $892,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of FAST. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Palladiem LLC purchased a new position in Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Evergreen Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Fastenal during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Fastenal in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Fastenal in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays cut their price objective on Fastenal from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $55.00 target price on shares of Fastenal and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $46.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Wolfe Research reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $47.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fastenal news, Director Rita J. Heise sold 34,964 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.05, for a total value of $1,749,948.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,001,000. The trade was a 63.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Ancius sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,875,810. The trade was a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of Fastenal stock opened at $50.31 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 4.18, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.73 billion, a PE ratio of 42.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.72. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $48.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.43. Fastenal Company has a 12 month low of $38.97 and a 12 month high of $52.92.

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

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 28th. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 88.14%.

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.