SlateStone Wealth LLC Has $759,000 Stock Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

SlateStone Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 177.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,081 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 7,726 shares during the period. SlateStone Wealth LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $759,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 101,713 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,588,000 after acquiring an additional 5,509 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth about $747,000. Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth about $1,282,000. ICW Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Fastenal by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 36,090 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,338,000 after buying an additional 694 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clear Rock Advisors LLC bought a new position in Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,936,000. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on FAST. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Fastenal from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $56.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 target price (down from $85.00) on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 15th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $66.67.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.2 %

FAST stock opened at $67.93 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.89 billion, a PE ratio of 33.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $53.83 and a twelve month high of $79.04. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $66.24 and its 200-day moving average is $68.84.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 12th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.51. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.54% and a net margin of 15.54%. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.61%.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total transaction of $3,116,996.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,489,266.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total value of $3,116,996.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at $19,489,266.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP James C. Jansen sold 11,428 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total transaction of $732,191.96. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,176 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,677,096.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

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.