Fastenal Company $FAST Shares Acquired by WoodTrust Financial Corp

Key Points

• WoodTrust Financial Corp has doubled its stake in Fastenal Company, acquiring an additional 34,400 shares to reach a total of 68,800 shares, valued at approximately $2.89 million.
• Insider selling activity has been noted, with executive vice president William Joseph Drazkowski selling 6,842 shares and John Lewis Soderberg selling 34,612 shares in recent transactions.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Fastenal stock, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $47.41, while one analyst has rated it a "Strong Buy."

WoodTrust Financial Corp increased its position in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 100.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 68,800 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 34,400 shares during the period. WoodTrust Financial Corp's holdings in Fastenal were worth $2,890,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its holdings in Fastenal by 0.3% during the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 49,219 shares of the company's stock worth $3,817,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC grew its position in Fastenal by 0.4% in the first quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 32,992 shares of the company's stock worth $2,559,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in Fastenal by 0.9% in the first quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 15,886 shares of the company's stock worth $1,142,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. grew its position in Fastenal by 1.7% in the first quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 8,870 shares of the company's stock worth $688,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its position in Fastenal by 2.4% in the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 6,276 shares of the company's stock worth $487,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on FAST. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Stephens lifted their price target 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. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Fastenal from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $47.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Loop Capital restated a "hold" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fastenal has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $47.41.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of Fastenal 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 11,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $583,747.98. This trade represents a 36.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were 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 90 days, insiders sold 111,230 shares of company stock worth $5,288,364. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.7%

NASDAQ FAST opened at $47.45 on Wednesday. Fastenal Company has a twelve month low of $34.69 and a twelve month high of $50.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a current ratio of 4.22. The stock has a market cap of $54.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.63, a PEG ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.94. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $48.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.74.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.25 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 29th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 84.62%.

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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