26,673 Shares in Fastenal Company $FAST Acquired by UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp bought a new position in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 26,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,281,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wiregrass Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,020,000. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 1,491,994 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,874,000 after acquiring an additional 39,406 shares during the last quarter. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac bought a new position in Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth $4,041,000. National Pension Service increased 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 worth $64,362,000 after acquiring an additional 45,260 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in Fastenal by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 6,820,172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $273,699,000 after purchasing an additional 959,731 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Fastenal from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Barclays lowered their price target on Fastenal from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Fastenal from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.17.

Fastenal Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $51.23 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.79 billion, a PE ratio of 43.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 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. Fastenal Company has a 12-month low of $38.97 and a 12-month high of $52.92. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $47.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.17.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33. Fastenal had a return on equity of 34.03% and a net margin of 15.45%.The company 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 business earned $0.29 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 1.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 28th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is 88.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other Fastenal 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 transaction, the director directly owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,001,000. This represents a 63.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Michael J. Ancius sold 3,000 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were 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 approximately $2,875,810. The trade was 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 owned by insiders.

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.