Brookstone Capital Management Buys 456 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Brookstone Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,986 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 456 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $356,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. 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 valued at $239,083,000 after purchasing an additional 2,580,478 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 46.2% during the 1st quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 3,185,855 shares of the company’s stock worth $245,757,000 after acquiring an additional 1,006,402 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in Fastenal by 4,008.2% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 756,241 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,522,000 after acquiring an additional 737,833 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Fastenal by 19.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,837,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,161,000 after acquiring an additional 636,546 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal during the second quarter valued at about $37,659,000. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.68, for a total value of $3,484,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,929,734.24. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were 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. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total value of $3,116,996.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,489,266.52. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $76.69 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.15, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 2.29. Fastenal has a one year low of $56.41 and a one year high of $79.04. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $68.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $67.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 33.54%. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 25th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 77.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Stephens upped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.33.

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.