Parkside Financial Bank & Trust Grows Position in Fastenal Company $FAST

Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 108.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,251 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,210 shares during the quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $179,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Fastenal by 87.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 34,851,036 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,463,743,000 after acquiring an additional 16,308,254 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 4,950,503 shares during the period. Cantillon Capital Management LLC increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 4,513,985 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 107.2% during the 2nd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 6,822,973 shares of the company’s stock valued at $286,565,000 after purchasing an additional 3,530,339 shares during the period. Finally, Provident Trust Co. raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 98.9% during the 2nd quarter. Provident Trust Co. now owns 5,379,291 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,930,000 after purchasing an additional 2,674,765 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total value of $333,000.14. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 11,994 shares in the company, valued at $583,747.98. This represents a 36.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $42.45 per share, for a total transaction of $42,450.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 9,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $382,050. This represents a 12.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on FAST shares. Wolfe Research reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Loop Capital restated a “hold” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Fastenal from $53.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Barclays set a $45.00 target price on Fastenal and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fastenal presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.50.

Fastenal Trading Up 1.2%

FAST opened at $41.35 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.19 and a current ratio of 4.26. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $45.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.42. Fastenal Company has a one year low of $35.31 and a one year high of $50.63. The stock has a market cap of $47.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.65, a P/E/G ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.92.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 13th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.13 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.34% and a return on equity of 32.69%. Fastenal’s revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.26 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 28th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 82.24%.

Fastenal 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.