Community Trust & Investment Co. Has $574,000 Stock Position in Fastenal Company $FAST

Key Points

• Community Trust & Investment Co. has increased its stake in Fastenal Company by 100% to 13,664 shares, now valued at $574,000.
• Fastenal recently reported earnings of $0.29 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts’ expectations of $0.28 and showing an 8.6% revenue increase year-over-year, totaling $2.08 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, which equates to an annualized dividend of $0.88 and represents a dividend yield of 1.9%.

Community Trust & Investment Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,664 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,832 shares during the quarter. Community Trust & Investment Co.'s holdings in Fastenal were worth $574,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,615,915 shares of the company's stock worth $1,753,864,000 after purchasing an additional 1,850,871 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 8,541.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,694,235 shares of the company's stock worth $131,388,000 after purchasing an additional 1,674,628 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 97.5% during the 2nd quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 3,280,009 shares of the company's stock worth $137,760,000 after purchasing an additional 1,619,507 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal during the 1st quarter worth approximately $119,136,000. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 266.4% during the 1st quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,824,055 shares of the company's stock worth $141,455,000 after purchasing an additional 1,326,260 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on FAST. Wolfe Research reissued a "positive" rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 14th. Northcoast Research began coverage on Fastenal in a report on Thursday, August 21st. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 price objective on Fastenal and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Stephens lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $46.82.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of FAST traded up $0.36 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $47.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 13,747,553 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,443,559. Fastenal Company has a one year low of $34.69 and a one year high of $50.63. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $47.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.89. The company has a quick ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 4.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.29 and a beta of 0.97.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.33% and a net margin of 15.30%.The company had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.25 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Investors 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 1.8%. Fastenal's payout ratio is currently 84.62%.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total value of $333,000.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $583,747.98. The trade was a 36.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 21,052 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.21, for a total value of $951,760.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 10,192 shares in the company, valued at $460,780.32. This trade represents a 67.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 111,230 shares of company stock worth $5,288,364. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.