Huntington National Bank Boosts Stock Position in Fastenal Company $FAST

Huntington National Bank grew its stake in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 82.2% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 72,780 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 32,841 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $3,057,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 73,317,271 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,685,754,000 after acquiring an additional 1,016,479 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 87.9% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 34,851,036 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,463,743,000 after buying an additional 16,308,254 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 8.9% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,615,915 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,753,864,000 after buying an additional 1,850,871 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 103.5% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,734,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $408,849,000 after buying an additional 4,950,503 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cantillon Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 94.4% in the second quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 9,298,033 shares of the company’s stock worth $390,517,000 after buying an additional 4,513,985 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.03, for a total transaction of $1,662,414.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.05, for a total transaction of $2,341,188.20. Following the transaction, the insider owned 11,880 shares in the company, valued at $570,834. The trade was a 80.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 90,178 shares of company stock valued at $4,336,603 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.6%

FAST opened at $41.30 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $47.41 billion, a PE ratio of 38.60, a P/E/G ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 2.19, a current ratio of 4.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Fastenal Company has a 52 week low of $35.31 and a 52 week high of $50.63. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $46.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.40.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 13th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.26 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 28th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on FAST. Wolfe Research reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 14th. Stephens increased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Barclays set a $45.00 price target on shares of Fastenal and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Loop Capital reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.50.

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.