Knollwood Investment Advisory LLC Grows Position in Fastenal Company $FAST

Knollwood Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 100.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 72,312 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 36,156 shares during the quarter. Knollwood Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $3,037,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 2.4% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 6,276 shares of the company’s stock valued at $487,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 3,407 shares of the company’s stock valued at $264,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the period. Riverview Trust Co grew its position in Fastenal by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 584 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Fastenal by 19.4% in the first quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $154,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the period. Finally, Private Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 111.9% during the second quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Sarah N. Nielsen bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $39.60 per share, for a total transaction of $39,600.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 5,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $198,000. The trade was a 25.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu purchased 1,000 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $49.58 per share, for a total transaction of $49,580.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $495,800. This represents a 11.11% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have purchased 3,000 shares of company stock valued at $131,630 in the last three months. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Fastenal from $53.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Wolfe Research raised Fastenal from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating and set a $43.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Fastenal in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.32.

Fastenal Trading Up 1.3%

FAST opened at $41.75 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 4.26, a quick ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a market cap of $47.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.02, a PEG ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.89. Fastenal Company has a 12 month low of $35.31 and a 12 month high of $50.63. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $42.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $44.37.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.13 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.34% and a return on equity of 32.69%. Fastenal’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.26 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 28th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 28th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 82.24%.

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.