Fastenal Company $FAST Holdings Increased by Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Fastenal Company by 105.0% during the second quarter, making it the firm's 5th largest holding, valued at approximately $8.5 million.
• Fastenal reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings with an EPS of $0.29, topping analysts' estimates, and an 8.6% year-over-year revenue increase.
• The company's dividend was recently cut to $0.22 per share, with a current dividend payout ratio of 84.62%.

Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 105.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 202,337 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 103,617 shares during the quarter. Fastenal accounts for about 4.2% of Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Fastenal were worth $8,498,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Patton Fund Management Inc. acquired a new position in Fastenal in the 2nd quarter worth about $229,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Fastenal by 8.9% in 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 period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its holdings in Fastenal by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 181,482 shares of the company's stock worth $14,074,000 after purchasing an additional 12,721 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS raised its holdings in Fastenal by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 195,748 shares of the company's stock worth $15,180,000 after purchasing an additional 7,400 shares during the period. Finally, Raiffeisen Bank International AG raised its holdings in Fastenal by 21.5% in the 1st quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 35,606 shares of the company's stock worth $2,712,000 after purchasing an additional 6,303 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on FAST. Wolfe Research reaffirmed a "positive" rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Loop Capital reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Baird R W raised Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Northcoast Research initiated coverage on Fastenal in a report on Thursday, August 21st. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $46.82.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.6%

FAST opened at $47.88 on Friday. Fastenal Company has a 52 week low of $34.69 and a 52 week high of $50.63. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.60. The firm has a market cap of $54.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.04, a P/E/G ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 4.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.25 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other news, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was 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 $583,747.98. This trade represents a 36.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.05, for a total value of $2,341,188.20. Following the transaction, the insider owned 11,880 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $570,834. This represents a 80.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 111,230 shares of company stock valued at $5,288,364. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Company 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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