<div id="readability-page-1"><p>Bell Bank raised its holdings in shares of  Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 110.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 30,078 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 15,804 shares during the period. Bell Bank's holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,263,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.</p><ul><li>Fastenal Surges After Earnings Beat, Tariff Risks Loom</li></ul><p>A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of  Fastenal by 8.9% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,615,915 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,753,864,000 after purchasing an additional 1,850,871 shares during the period.  GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of  Fastenal by 8,541.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,694,235 shares of the company's stock valued at $131,388,000 after acquiring an additional 1,674,628 shares in the last quarter.  Confluence Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of  Fastenal by 97.5% during the second quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 3,280,009 shares of the company's stock valued at $137,760,000 after acquiring an additional 1,619,507 shares in the last quarter.  Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of  Fastenal during the first quarter valued at $119,136,000.  Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in  Fastenal by 266.4% in the 1st quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,824,055 shares of the company's stock worth $141,455,000 after buying an additional 1,326,260 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. </p><h2>Insider Buying and Selling</h2><p>In other Fastenal news, CFO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 21,052 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.21, for a total transaction of $951,760.92. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 10,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $460,780.32. The trade was a 67.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.03, for a total transaction of $1,662,414.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 111,230 shares of company stock valued at $5,288,364 in the last quarter. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders. </p><h2>Fastenal Trading Up 0.8%</h2><ul><li>Fastenal Stock After Split: Poised for 5 More Years of Gains</li></ul><p>NASDAQ:FAST opened at $47.58 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $54.60 billion, a PE ratio of 45.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.29 and a beta of 0.97. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $47.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.89. Fastenal Company has a 12-month low of $34.69 and a 12-month high of $50.63. The company has a current ratio of 4.22, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. </p><p>Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.07 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.33% and a net margin of 15.30%.Fastenal's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.25 EPS.  Sell-side analysts anticipate that  Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. </p><h2>Fastenal Cuts Dividend</h2><ul><li>Don’t Fear, New Highs for Fastenal Will Soon Be Here</li></ul><p>The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 29th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio  is currently 84.62%. </p><h2>Wall Street Analyst Weigh In</h2><p>A number of research firms have recently weighed in on FAST. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. They set a &#34;neutral&#34; rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised Fastenal from a &#34;neutral&#34; rating to an &#34;outperform&#34; rating and upped their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley  set a $40.00 target price on Fastenal and gave the stock an &#34;equal weight&#34; rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Loop Capital  reaffirmed a &#34;hold&#34; rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase &amp; Co. raised their target price on Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a &#34;neutral&#34; rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. One investment analyst  has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued  a Buy rating, eight have issued  a Hold rating and one  has issued  a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of &#34;Hold&#34; and an average price target of $46.82.</p><p><b>Get Our Latest Research Report on Fastenal</b></p><h2>Fastenal Profile</h2> (Free Report)<p>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.</p><h2>Read More</h2><ul><li>Five stocks we like better than Fastenal</li><li>About the Markup Calculator</li><li>Tesla: 2 Reasons to Love Musk's $1B Buy, 1 Reason to Be Bearish</li><li>Expert Stock Trading Psychology Tips</li><li>Azure Leads While AI Excitement Fuels Microsoft Stock</li><li>3 Tickers Leading a Meme Stock Revival</li><li>Darden Restaurants: A Textbook Buy-the-Dip Opportunity</li></ul><p><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/SECFilingChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5BU0RBUSZTeW1ib2w9RkFTVA?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="650" height="350" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/SECFilingChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5BU0RBUSZTeW1ib2w9RkFTVA"/></p><p><em>This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.</em></p><h2>Should You Invest $1,000 in Fastenal Right Now?</h2><p>Before you consider Fastenal, you'll want to hear this.</p><p>MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Fastenal wasn't on the list.</p><p>While Fastenal currently has a Hold rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.</p><p>View The Five Stocks Here</p>                  </div>

FAST

<p>Bell Bank increased its stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 110.7% in Q2, acquiring an additional 15,804 shares, bringing its total to 30,078 shares valued at $1.26 million. Other institutional investors also boosted their holdings. Fastenal's stock opened at $47.58, with a market cap of $54.60 billion. The company reported Q2 earnings of $0.29 per share, exceeding estimates, and revenue of $2.08 billion, up 8.6% year-over-year. Fastenal recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, yielding 1.8%.</p>

Bell Bank Buys 15,804 Shares of Fastenal Company $FAST