Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Buys 1,582 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 496,758 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,582 shares during the quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $31,216,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of FAST. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Fastenal by 497.3% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 3,099,333 shares of the company’s stock worth $239,083,000 after buying an additional 2,580,478 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Fastenal by 112.9% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,679,735 shares of the company’s stock worth $173,566,000 after buying an additional 1,420,763 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Fastenal by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,928,209 shares of the company’s stock worth $513,510,000 after buying an additional 1,043,529 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Fastenal by 46.2% in the first quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 3,185,855 shares of the company’s stock worth $245,757,000 after purchasing an additional 1,006,402 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. boosted its position in Fastenal by 76.8% in the fourth quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,690,801 shares of the company’s stock worth $109,513,000 after purchasing an additional 734,629 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.68, for a total transaction of $3,484,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,929,734.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.68, for a total transaction of $3,484,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,929,734.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,489,266.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $71.38 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.51, a P/E/G ratio of 3.78 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. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $67.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $68.52. 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 data on Friday, July 12th. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.51. The firm had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.54% and a net margin of 15.54%. The company’s revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FAST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective (down previously from $85.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $56.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.43.

Fastenal Company 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.