Eads & Heald Wealth Management Increases Holdings in Fastenal Company $FAST

Key Points

• Eads & Heald Wealth Management increased its holdings in Fastenal Company by 91.2% during the 2nd quarter, now owning 50,108 shares valued at approximately $2.1 million.
• Fastenal reported earnings of $0.29 per share for the last quarter, beating estimates and showing an 8.6% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• Insiders sold a total of 111,230 shares valued at over $5.2 million in the past three months, highlighting potential concerns about insider confidence in the stock.

Eads & Heald Wealth Management increased its holdings in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 91.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 50,108 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 23,897 shares during the quarter. Eads & Heald Wealth Management's holdings in Fastenal were worth $2,105,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Riverview Trust Co grew its position in Fastenal by 100.0% during the 2nd quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 584 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the period. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new position in Fastenal in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 95.0% during the 2nd quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 702 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the period. Finally, Clean Yield Group increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 100.0% during the 2nd quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 696 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.6%

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $47.88 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.22 and a quick ratio of 2.12. Fastenal Company has a 12 month low of $34.69 and a 12 month high of $50.63. The business's 50-day moving average is $48.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.95 billion, a PE ratio of 46.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.94.

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

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 29th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio is 84.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FAST has been the topic of several analyst reports. Loop Capital restated a "hold" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Fastenal from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the company from $47.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Stephens boosted their price objective on Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on Fastenal in a report on Thursday, August 21st. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Fastenal has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $46.82.

About Fastenal

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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