Seven Eight Capital LP Invests $679,000 in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 10,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $679,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,928,209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $513,510,000 after acquiring an additional 1,043,529 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Fastenal by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,800,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $310,931,000 after purchasing an additional 109,028 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 19.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,837,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,161,000 after purchasing an additional 636,546 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 21.2% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 3,248,853 shares of the company’s stock worth $250,617,000 after purchasing an additional 569,118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 46.2% in the 1st quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 3,185,855 shares of the company’s stock valued at $245,757,000 after buying an additional 1,006,402 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of FAST opened at $70.75 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $40.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 4.39. Fastenal has a 52 week low of $53.83 and a 52 week high of $79.04. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $68.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.45.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 12th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51. The company 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th were given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is presently 77.61%.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,929,734.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Fastenal news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total transaction of $3,116,996.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,489,266.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of Fastenal 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,929,734.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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