Fastenal Company $FAST Shares Bought by Pittenger & Anderson Inc.

Pittenger & Anderson Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 145.7% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 28,314 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 16,791 shares during the period. Pittenger & Anderson Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,189,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Riverview Trust Co boosted its stake in Fastenal by 100.0% during the 2nd quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 584 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in Fastenal during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 111.9% during the 2nd quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 642 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares during the period. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 100.0% during the 2nd quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 95.0% during the 2nd quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of FAST opened at $43.32 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $49.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.94. Fastenal Company has a 12-month low of $35.31 and a 12-month high of $50.63. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $47.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $44.10. The company has a current ratio of 4.26, a quick ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 13th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.13 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.34% and a return on equity of 32.69%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.26 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 28th will be paid 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 2.0%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is 82.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on FAST shares. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 price target on shares of Fastenal and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Baird R W raised shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Loop Capital reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Fastenal has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of the business’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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,994 shares in the company, valued at $583,747.98. This represents a 36.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.05, for a total transaction of $2,341,188.20. Following the sale, the insider owned 11,880 shares in the company, valued at $570,834. This trade represents a 80.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 90,178 shares of company stock valued at $4,336,603 over the last three months. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.