CHICAGO TRUST Co NA Boosts Stock Holdings in Fastenal Company $FAST

Key Points

• CHICAGO TRUST Co NA increased its stake in Fastenal Company by 259.7% in the second quarter, owning 27,540 shares valued at $1,157,000.
• Fastenal reported earnings of $0.29 per share for the last quarter, surpassing estimates and showing an 8.6% revenue increase compared to the previous year.
• The company's dividend payout ratio is currently 84.62%, with a recent quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share and an annualized yield of 1.9%.

CHICAGO TRUST Co NA grew its holdings in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 259.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,540 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 19,883 shares during the period. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA's holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,157,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in FAST. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 696 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 95.0% during the 2nd quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 702 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 4,900.0% during the 2nd quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 750 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 735 shares in the last quarter. 1248 Management LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Horizon Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 5,330.0% in the 1st quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 543 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fastenal Stock Performance

FAST opened at $47.12 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.22 and a quick ratio of 2.12. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $47.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.00. Fastenal Company has a 1 year low of $34.69 and a 1 year high of $50.63. The stock has a market cap of $54.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.31, a P/E/G ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.97.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.07 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 32.33%. The business's revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.25 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio is currently 84.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on FAST shares. Loop Capital restated a "hold" rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Northcoast Research began coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $46.82.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total transaction of $333,000.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 11,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $583,747.98. This represents a 36.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.03, for a total transaction of $1,662,414.36. 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. Insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

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.

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