Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Cuts Position in Fastenal Company $FAST

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 16.1% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 53,715 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,324 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $2,580,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the second quarter valued at about $5,105,454,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec acquired a new position in Fastenal during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,417,000. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac acquired a new position in Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,041,000. National Pension Service boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 2.9% in the 4th 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, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 148.4% in the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 44,923 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,803,000 after acquiring an additional 26,835 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other news, Director Rita Heise sold 34,964 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.05, for a total value of $1,749,948.20. Following the sale, the director owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,001,000. This represents a 63.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 shares were sold at an average price of $49.00, for a total value of $147,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 58,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,875,810. This represents 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 company insiders.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of FAST opened at $49.32 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $56.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.80, a PEG ratio of 3.08 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 $48.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.71. Fastenal Company has a 52-week low of $38.97 and a 52-week high of $52.92.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33. The business had revenue of $2.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.45% and a return on equity of 34.03%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.29 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Fastenal Company will post 1.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 28th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 88.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Fastenal from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Fastenal from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday. Wolfe Research reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $47.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.17.

Fastenal Company Profile

Fastenal Company (NASDAQ: FAST) is a distributor of industrial and construction supplies. The company provides fasteners such as bolts, nuts, screws and related hardware, along with safety products, tools, material-handling equipment, welding supplies, janitorial products and other maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) materials.

Fastenal serves manufacturers, construction companies, contractors, government organizations and other commercial customers. Its offerings are delivered through a network of branch locations, customer-specific onsite operations, industrial vending machines, e-commerce platforms and other supply-chain services designed to help customers manage inventory and reduce procurement time.

Founded in 1967 by Bob Kierlin in Winona, Minnesota, Fastenal has expanded from a regional fastener supplier into an international industrial distributor.