LRI Investments LLC Invests $39,000 in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 503 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 13.8% during the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 61,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,722,000 after acquiring an additional 7,418 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 61.1% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 347,807 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,830,000 after purchasing an additional 131,887 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 341,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,328,000 after purchasing an additional 7,046 shares during the last quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 1st quarter worth about $1,281,000. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 23.3% during the 1st quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,608 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,358,000 after purchasing an additional 3,324 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Loop Capital cut their price objective on Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 15th. HSBC boosted their price objective on Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price objective (down previously from $85.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Fastenal from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $66.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP James C. Jansen sold 11,428 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total transaction of $732,191.96. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,176 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,677,096.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP James C. Jansen sold 11,428 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total transaction of $732,191.96. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,176 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,677,096.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu acquired 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $63.28 per share, for a total transaction of $31,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $221,480. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of FAST traded up $1.69 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $70.37. The company had a trading volume of 2,997,479 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,382,875. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $53.83 and a twelve month high of $79.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 2.29. The company’s 50-day moving average is $65.20 and its 200-day moving average is $68.88. The company has a market capitalization of $40.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.01, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.01.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 12th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.54% and a net margin of 15.54%. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. Fastenal’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.06 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 26th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.61%.

Fastenal 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.