S Bank Fund Management Ltd Purchases 9,866 Shares of Fastenal Company $FAST

Key Points

• S Bank Fund Management Ltd increased its stake in Fastenal Company by 84% in Q2, purchasing an additional 9,866 shares, bringing its total holdings to 21,612 shares valued at around $908,000.
• Fastenal reported $0.29 earnings per share for the latest quarter, missing expectations and showing an 11.7% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, with an annualized yield of 2.1%, scheduled for payment on November 25th.

S Bank Fund Management Ltd grew its position in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 84.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 21,612 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,866 shares during the quarter. S Bank Fund Management Ltd's holdings in Fastenal were worth $908,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of FAST. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 107.2% during the second quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 6,822,973 shares of the company's stock worth $286,565,000 after acquiring an additional 3,530,339 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 90.0% during the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 4,934,558 shares of the company's stock worth $207,251,000 after acquiring an additional 2,337,187 shares during the last quarter. Fenimore Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 101.0% during the second quarter. Fenimore Asset Management Inc now owns 3,747,704 shares of the company's stock worth $157,404,000 after acquiring an additional 1,883,419 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 8.9% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,850,871 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. bought a new position in Fastenal during the second quarter valued at $73,733,000. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of FAST opened at $42.24 on Thursday. Fastenal Company has a twelve month low of $35.31 and a twelve month high of $50.63. The company has a market cap of $48.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 4.26, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $48.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.95.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 13th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.01). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.34% and a return on equity of 32.69%. The firm had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.26 EPS. The company's revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 28th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on FAST. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Northcoast Research began coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Barclays set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Loop Capital reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. One research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $46.50.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.03, for a total transaction of $1,662,414.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total transaction of $333,000.14. Following 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 90,178 shares of company stock worth $4,336,603 in the last 90 days. 0.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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