Fastenal Company $FAST Shares Acquired by Fulton Bank N.A.

Key Points

• Fulton Bank N.A. increased its stake in Fastenal Company by 85.9%, owning 51,898 shares valued at approximately $2.18 million.
• Recent insider trading saw executives sell a total of 111,230 shares worth over $5.28 million in the last quarter, representing a significant decrease in their holdings.
• Fastenal's quarterly earnings beat estimates, reporting $0.29 EPS compared to the $0.28 consensus, alongside an increase in revenue by 8.6% year-over-year.

Fulton Bank N.A. boosted its position in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 85.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 51,898 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 23,980 shares during the quarter. Fulton Bank N.A.'s holdings in Fastenal were worth $2,180,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 120.1% during the second quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 24,601 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,061,000 after acquiring an additional 13,424 shares in the last quarter. Community Trust & Investment Co. increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 100.0% during the second quarter. Community Trust & Investment Co. now owns 13,664 shares of the company's stock valued at $574,000 after acquiring an additional 6,832 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 134.6% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 855,561 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,900,000 after acquiring an additional 490,867 shares in the last quarter. Longboard Asset Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the second quarter valued at about $203,000. Finally, Bath Savings Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 96.6% during the second quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co now owns 11,418 shares of the company's stock valued at $480,000 after acquiring an additional 5,609 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FAST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Fastenal from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $55.00 in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Loop Capital restated a "hold" rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, August 21st. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. Baird R W upgraded shares of Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. One equities research 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $46.82.

Insider Activity

In other Fastenal news, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 available through this link. Also, CFO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 21,052 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.21, for a total transaction of $951,760.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 10,192 shares in the company, valued at $460,780.32. This represents a 67.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.5%

NASDAQ:FAST traded down $0.22 on Monday, reaching $47.37. 2,343,497 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,531,678. The company has a quick ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 4.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a fifty day moving average of $47.84 and a 200-day moving average of $42.95. Fastenal Company has a 52-week low of $34.69 and a 52-week high of $50.63.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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. As a group, analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

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

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.