Trueblood Wealth Management LLC Increases Stake in Fastenal Company $FAST

Trueblood Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 102.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,981 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,638 shares during the period. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $881,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. KPP Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Fastenal by 99.0% in the 2nd quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,154 shares of the company’s stock worth $678,000 after purchasing an additional 8,038 shares during the period. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Fastenal by 79.9% in the 2nd quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 120,158 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,047,000 after purchasing an additional 53,385 shares during the period. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. increased its stake in Fastenal by 102.2% in the 2nd quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 35,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,510,000 after purchasing an additional 18,171 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its stake in Fastenal by 99.2% in the 2nd quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 53,804 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,258,000 after purchasing an additional 26,797 shares during the period. Finally, Eads & Heald Wealth Management increased its stake in Fastenal by 91.2% in the 2nd quarter. Eads & Heald Wealth Management now owns 50,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,105,000 after purchasing an additional 23,897 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.2%

NASDAQ FAST opened at $47.78 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 4.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Fastenal Company has a twelve month low of $34.69 and a twelve month high of $50.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.83 billion, a PE ratio of 45.94, a P/E/G ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $48.20 and its 200 day moving average is $43.71.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.01. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.33% and a net margin of 15.30%.The company had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.25 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 29th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 29th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 84.62%.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In related news, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total transaction of $333,000.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,994 shares in the company, valued at $583,747.98. The trade was a 36.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.05, for a total value of $2,341,188.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 11,880 shares in the company, valued at $570,834. This trade represents a 80.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 111,230 shares of company stock valued at $5,288,364. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FAST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Stephens boosted their target price on Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Robert W. Baird raised Fastenal from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $47.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Wolfe Research reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Northcoast Research initiated coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.25.

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.