Fulton Bank N.A. Reduces Stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Fulton Bank N.A. decreased its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 0.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 29,932 shares of the company’s stock after selling 249 shares during the quarter. Fulton Bank N.A.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,881,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Hartford Financial Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 46.9% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 479 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 2,172.2% during the 1st quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 409 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 1st quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Fastenal in the 4th quarter worth $43,000. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FAST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Loop Capital reduced their price target on Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price objective (down from $85.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, July 15th. HSBC raised their target price on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $66.67.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other news, EVP James C. Jansen sold 11,428 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total transaction of $732,191.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,176 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,677,096.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP James C. Jansen sold 11,428 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total value of $732,191.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,176 shares in the company, valued at $1,677,096.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu acquired 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $63.28 per share, for a total transaction of $31,640.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $221,480. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of Fastenal stock traded down $0.83 on Tuesday, hitting $65.57. 3,210,634 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,703,477. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 4.39. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $69.11. Fastenal has a 52 week low of $53.83 and a 52 week high of $79.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 1.01.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 12th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 33.54%. The company had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. Fastenal’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th will be given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 26th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.61%.

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.