Fastenal Company $FAST Shares Bought by Peoples Financial Services CORP.

Key Points

• Peoples Financial Services CORP. increased its stake in Fastenal Company by 95% during the second quarter, owning 70,094 shares valued at approximately $2.94 million now.
• Fastenal's recent quarterly earnings exceeded expectations, reporting $0.29 earnings per share against a consensus estimate of $0.28, and a revenue of $2.08 billion.
• Insider selling activity has been notable, with a total of 111,230 shares sold by corporate insiders worth over $5 million in the last three months.

Peoples Financial Services CORP. raised its position in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 95.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 70,094 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 34,141 shares during the period. Fastenal makes up approximately 1.5% of Peoples Financial Services CORP.'s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Peoples Financial Services CORP.'s holdings in Fastenal were worth $2,944,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of FAST. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 8.9% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,615,915 shares of the company's stock worth $1,753,864,000 after buying an additional 1,850,871 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal in the second quarter worth $73,733,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 8,541.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,694,235 shares of the company's stock worth $131,388,000 after buying an additional 1,674,628 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 97.5% in the second quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 3,280,009 shares of the company's stock worth $137,760,000 after buying an additional 1,619,507 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal in the first quarter worth $119,136,000. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.03, for a total value of $1,662,414.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.05, for a total transaction of $2,341,188.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 11,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $570,834. This trade represents a 80.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 111,230 shares of company stock worth $5,288,364 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on FAST. Baird R W raised shares of Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Wolfe Research reissued a "positive" rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 14th. Stephens raised their target price on shares of Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Loop Capital reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $46.82.

Fastenal Stock Up 1.8%

FAST opened at $48.70 on Monday. Fastenal Company has a fifty-two week low of $34.69 and a fifty-two week 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $48.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.83, a PEG ratio of 4.43 and a beta of 0.97.

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

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th were issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 presently 84.62%.

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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