Glenview Trust Co Purchases Shares of 74,916 Fastenal Company $FAST

Glenview Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 74,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,476,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 2nd quarter worth about $5,105,454,000. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,734,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,196,502,000 after purchasing an additional 631,889 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 47,297,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,898,031,000 after purchasing an additional 919,158 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 37,699,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,508,216,000 after purchasing an additional 685,047 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,215,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $893,307,000 after purchasing an additional 2,242,116 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on FAST. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Fastenal from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $46.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Wolfe Research restated an “underperform” rating and set a $47.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Fastenal from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Michael J. Ancius sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.00, for a total value of $147,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 58,690 shares in the company, valued at $2,875,810. The trade was a 4.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Rita J. Heise sold 34,964 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.05, for a total value of $1,749,948.20. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,001,000. This represents a 63.61% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $51.13 on Friday. Fastenal Company has a 12-month low of $38.97 and a 12-month high of $52.92. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $48.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.48. The company has a quick ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 4.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a market cap of $58.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.72.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.33. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.45% and a return on equity of 34.03%. The firm had revenue of $2.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.29 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 1.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 28th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 28th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 88.14%.

Fastenal Company Profile

Fastenal (NASDAQ: FAST) is a wholesale distributor of industrial and construction supplies, best known for its broad assortment of fasteners such as bolts, nuts, screws and anchors. Founded in Winona, Minnesota, Fastenal has grown from a regional supplier into a national and international distributor serving a wide range of end markets, including manufacturing, construction, maintenance, repair and operations (MRO), and government customers. The company is publicly traded and operates through a network of locally staffed branches combined with national distribution capabilities.

Product offerings extend beyond fasteners to include tools, safety and personal protective equipment, power transmission components, cutting and welding supplies, janitorial and material handling items, and other industrial consumables.