Fastenal Company $FAST Shares Bought by Pittenger & Anderson Inc.

Key Points

• Pittenger & Anderson Inc. significantly increased its stake in Fastenal Company by 145.7% in Q2, now holding 28,314 shares valued at approximately $1.19 million.
• Insider trading activity included Jeffery Michael Watts and John Lewis Soderberg selling a combined total of 90,178 shares for over $4.3 million.
• Fastenal announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, representing a 2.0% yield, with the ex-dividend date set for October 28th.

Pittenger & Anderson Inc. increased its stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 145.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,314 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 16,791 shares during the period. Pittenger & Anderson Inc.'s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,189,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Riverview Trust Co boosted its stake in Fastenal by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 584 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its stake in Fastenal by 111.9% in the 2nd quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 642 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. raised its position in Fastenal by 100.0% during the 2nd quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 696 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its position in Fastenal by 95.0% during the 2nd quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 702 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In related news, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.05, for a total value of $2,341,188.20. Following the sale, the insider owned 11,880 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $570,834. This trade represents a 80.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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. Insiders sold a total of 90,178 shares of company stock worth $4,336,603 over the last 90 days. 0.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FAST has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Baird R W raised shares of Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Barclays set a $45.00 price target on shares of Fastenal and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 price target on shares of Fastenal and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Loop Capital reissued 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 issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $46.50.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $43.32 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.49, a PEG ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.94. Fastenal Company has a 12 month low of $35.31 and a 12 month high of $50.63. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $47.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.26 and a quick ratio of 2.19.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 13th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.69% and a net margin of 15.34%.Fastenal's revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.26 EPS. Analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 28th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 28th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.24%.

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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