182,184 Shares in Fastenal Company $FAST Acquired by Sanctuary Advisors LLC

Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 182,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,750,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 1,491,994 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,874,000 after buying an additional 39,406 shares in the last quarter. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac bought a new position in Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,041,000. National Pension Service raised its position in Fastenal by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,603,839 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,362,000 after acquiring an additional 45,260 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the second quarter valued at approximately $5,105,454,000. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in Fastenal by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 6,820,172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $273,699,000 after acquiring an additional 959,731 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other news, Director Rita J. Heise sold 34,964 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 63.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael J. Ancius sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.00, for a total value of $147,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 58,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,875,810. This represents a 4.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $55.00 price target on shares of Fastenal and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $46.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a report on Friday, August 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Wolfe Research reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $47.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.17.

Fastenal Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of FAST stock opened at $51.28 on Tuesday. Fastenal Company has a 12 month low of $38.97 and a 12 month high of $52.92. The company has a market cap of $58.84 billion, a PE ratio of 43.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.72. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $48.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.41.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.29 EPS. Fastenal’s quarterly revenue was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Fastenal Company will post 1.26 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 28th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 88.14%.

About Fastenal

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.