SRN Advisors LLC Purchases 678 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

SRN Advisors LLC lifted its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 5.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,397 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 678 shares during the quarter. SRN Advisors LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,033,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in Fastenal by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 5,493 shares of the company’s stock worth $350,000 after buying an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its position in Fastenal by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 8,771 shares of the company’s stock worth $568,000 after buying an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in Fastenal by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 30,694 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,988,000 after buying an additional 1,211 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its position in Fastenal by 38.9% during the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 2,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $146,000 after buying an additional 633 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trust Point Inc. acquired a new position in Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth about $4,623,000. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FAST has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $56.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price 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. HSBC upped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Loop Capital cut their target price on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $66.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fastenal news, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu bought 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $63.28 per share, with a total value of $31,640.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,500 shares in the company, valued at $221,480. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP James C. Jansen sold 11,428 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total transaction of $732,191.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,677,096.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu purchased 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $63.28 per share, with a total value of $31,640.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,500 shares in the company, valued at $221,480. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST traded down $0.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $67.30. The stock had a trading volume of 3,847,400 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,602,243. The firm has a market cap of $38.54 billion, a PE ratio of 33.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $65.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.08. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 2.29 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.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 12th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 33.54%. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.91 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. Fastenal’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 26th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 77.61%.

About Fastenal

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.