Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Purchases 30,812 Shares of Fastenal Company $FAST

Key Points

• Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB significantly increased its holdings in Fastenal by 106.8%, acquiring an additional 30,812 shares, resulting in a total ownership of 59,667 shares valued at approximately $2.5 million.
• Analysts have set a consensus price target of $46.50 for Fastenal's stock, with mixed ratings including one Strong Buy and four Buy ratings, reflecting varied investor sentiment.
• Fastenal announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, payable on November 25th, which indicates a 2.1% dividend yield based on its stock price.

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its position in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 106.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 59,667 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 30,812 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB's holdings in Fastenal were worth $2,506,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Riverview Trust Co increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 100.0% during the second quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 584 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the period. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in Fastenal during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. grew its position in Fastenal by 100.0% during the second quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 696 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its position in Fastenal by 95.0% during the second quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 702 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clean Yield Group grew its position in Fastenal by 100.0% during the second quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 696 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. 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. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays set a $45.00 price target on Fastenal and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 target price on Fastenal in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed a "positive" rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $46.50.

Fastenal Trading Down 1.2%

NASDAQ FAST opened at $42.24 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 4.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. 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 price-to-earnings ratio of 39.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.94. The business's fifty day moving average is $48.06 and its 200 day moving average is $43.95.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.26 EPS. The company's revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, October 28th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.24%.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In related news, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total transaction of $333,000.14. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.05, for a total value of $2,341,188.20. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 11,880 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $570,834. This represents a 80.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 90,178 shares of company stock valued at $4,336,603 in the last 90 days. 0.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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