Bank of America Corp DE Lowers Stock Position in Fastenal Company $FAST

Bank of America Corp DE reduced its position in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 1.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,121,214 shares of the company's stock after selling 171,211 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned 1.40% of Fastenal worth $774,302,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Windsor Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the second quarter valued at approximately $224,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,417,000. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Fastenal in the second quarter valued at approximately $362,000. Man Group plc purchased a new position in Fastenal in the second quarter valued at approximately $20,944,000. Finally, Roberts Glore & Co. Inc. IL bought a new position in Fastenal during the second quarter valued at $892,000. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In related news, Director Michael J. Ancius sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.00, for a total value of $147,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 58,690 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,875,810. This trade represents a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Rita Heise sold 34,964 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.05, for a total transaction of $1,749,948.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 20,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,001,000. This trade represents a 63.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAST has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Fastenal from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Fastenal from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Friday, September 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Tuesday. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $51.00 price target on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $49.50.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $49.41 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 4.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a market cap of $56.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.72. Fastenal Company has a 52 week low of $38.97 and a 52 week high of $52.92. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.77.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.33. Fastenal had a return on equity of 34.03% and a net margin of 15.45%.The firm had revenue of $2.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.29 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 1.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 28th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is a boost from Fastenal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 28th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Fastenal's payout ratio is currently 88.14%.

About Fastenal

Fastenal Company NASDAQ: FAST is a distributor of industrial and construction supplies. The company provides fasteners such as bolts, nuts, screws and related hardware, along with safety products, tools, material-handling equipment, welding supplies, janitorial products and other maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) materials.

Fastenal serves manufacturers, construction companies, contractors, government organizations and other commercial customers. Its offerings are delivered through a network of branch locations, customer-specific onsite operations, industrial vending machines, e-commerce platforms and other supply-chain services designed to help customers manage inventory and reduce procurement time.

Founded in 1967 by Bob Kierlin in Winona, Minnesota, Fastenal has expanded from a regional fastener supplier into an international industrial distributor.

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