Truist Financial Corp Acquires 93,754 Shares of Fastenal Company $FAST

Key Points

• Truist Financial Corp increased its ownership in Fastenal Company by 100.5%, acquiring an additional 93,754 shares during the 2nd quarter, bringing its total holdings to 186,996 shares worth approximately $7.85 million.
• Institutional investors now hold 81.38% of Fastenal's stock, with several hedge funds, including Charles Schwab and Confluence Investment Management, significantly increasing their positions in the company.
• Fastenal recently reported $0.29 earnings per share, exceeding expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22, yielding 1.8%.

Truist Financial Corp raised its holdings in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 100.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 186,996 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 93,754 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp's holdings in Fastenal were worth $7,854,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of FAST. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Fastenal by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,615,915 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,753,864,000 after acquiring an additional 1,850,871 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 2nd quarter worth $73,733,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 97.5% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 1st quarter worth $119,136,000. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 266.4% during the 1st quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,824,055 shares of the company's stock worth $141,455,000 after buying an additional 1,326,260 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on FAST. Robert W. Baird raised Fastenal from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $47.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Wolfe Research reissued a "positive" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 price target on Fastenal and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Baird R W raised Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $46.82.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total transaction of $333,000.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $583,747.98. This trade represents a 36.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 21,052 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.21, for a total value of $951,760.92. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $460,780.32. This trade represents a 67.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 111,230 shares of company stock valued at $5,288,364 in the last three months. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST opened at $47.88 on Monday. Fastenal Company has a 52-week low of $34.69 and a 52-week high of $50.63. The stock has a market cap of $54.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.04, a PEG ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.94. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $48.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.64.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.01. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.33% and a net margin of 15.30%.The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.07 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.25 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th were paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 29th. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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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