Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Sells 11,189 Shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST)

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd decreased its position in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 25.0% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 33,541 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,189 shares during the quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $2,601,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of FAST. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 73,317,271 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,685,754,000 after acquiring an additional 1,016,479 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 8.9% in 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 buying an additional 1,850,871 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,275,793 shares of the company’s stock valued at $595,112,000 after buying an additional 74,903 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,322,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $526,578,000 after buying an additional 966,629 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,018,546 shares of the company’s stock valued at $504,703,000 after buying an additional 116,866 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FAST has been the subject of several recent research reports. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 price objective on Fastenal and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Wolfe Research reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price objective on Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Fastenal from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.36.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other news, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.05, for a total transaction of $2,341,188.20. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 11,880 shares in the company, valued at $570,834. The trade was a 80.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.03, for a total value of $1,662,414.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 137,112 shares of company stock worth $6,304,410 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST opened at $49.21 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 4.22, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $44.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.73. Fastenal Company has a 1-year low of $32.04 and a 1-year high of $49.26. The stock has a market cap of $56.48 billion, a PE ratio of 47.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.95.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.01. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.33% and a net margin of 15.30%. The business had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.07 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.25 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th 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 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 29th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is presently 84.62%.

About Fastenal

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.