Investment House LLC Sells 59,471 Shares of Fastenal Company $FAST

Investment House LLC decreased its stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 77.2% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 17,535 shares of the company’s stock after selling 59,471 shares during the quarter. Investment House LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $869,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Evergreen Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Fastenal by 69.6% during the 1st quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 748 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 307 shares in the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Paladin Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $51.91 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $59.56 billion, a PE ratio of 41.86, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 3.93, a quick ratio of 2.11 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $50.36 and a 200 day moving average of $47.73.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 14th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.44 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.62% and a return on equity of 35.13%. The business’s revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.29 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Fastenal Company will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 28th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 28th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on FAST. Barclays decreased their target price on Fastenal from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. DA Davidson set a $51.00 price target on Fastenal and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $51.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Fastenal from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $47.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.46.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, Director Michael J. Ancius sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $2,875,810. This represents a 4.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Rita Heise sold 34,964 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,001,000. The trade was a 63.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Fastenal

Fastenal Company is a distributor of industrial and construction supplies headquartered in Winona, Minnesota. Founded in 1967, the company primarily serves businesses that require products for manufacturing, construction, maintenance, repair and operations.

Its product range includes threaded fasteners, bolts, nuts, screws, industrial and safety supplies, tools, electrical and plumbing products, material-handling equipment, and other related items. Fastenal also provides inventory-management solutions, including automated vending machines, customer-specific inventory programs and onsite services designed to improve product availability and purchasing efficiency.

Fastenal serves customers through a network of locations and sales channels across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe and parts of Asia.