Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Stock Holdings in Fastenal Company $FAST

Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 14.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 89,069 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,269 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $4,368,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 2.4% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 6,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $487,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in Fastenal by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 5,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $260,000 after buying an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Rowlandmiller & PARTNERS.ADV boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Rowlandmiller & PARTNERS.ADV now owns 14,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $721,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. increased its stake in Fastenal by 71.6% during the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 611 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harfst & Associates Inc. increased its stake in Fastenal by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Harfst & Associates Inc. now owns 63,720 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,125,000 after buying an additional 256 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 news, Director Scott Satterlee sold 15,964 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.19, for a total transaction of $705,449.16. Following the sale, the director owned 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,209,500. The trade was a 24.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Fastenal Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST opened at $45.69 on Wednesday. Fastenal Company has a 52-week low of $35.31 and a 52-week high of $50.63. The stock has a market cap of $52.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.54, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a fifty day moving average of $43.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.42. The company has a quick ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 4.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.26. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.83% and a net margin of 15.35%.The business had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.46 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 29th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 29th. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 87.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on FAST shares. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $46.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Barclays set a $43.00 price objective on Fastenal and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.18.

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.