Commerce Bank Buys New Stake in Fastenal Company $FAST

Commerce Bank bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 106,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,121,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Palladiem LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Evergreen Advisors LLC bought a new position in Fastenal in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Fastenal in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $47.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $46.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Fastenal from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other news, Director Rita J. Heise sold 34,964 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.05, for a total transaction of $1,749,948.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,001,000. This represents a 63.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael J. Ancius sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.00, for a total value of $147,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 58,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,875,810. This represents a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Fastenal Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $51.26 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $47.96 and a 200-day moving average of $46.38. The firm has a market cap of $58.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 4.18, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Fastenal Company has a twelve month low of $38.97 and a twelve month high of $52.92.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.45% and a return on equity of 34.03%. The business had revenue of $2.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.29 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 28th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.