Park Avenue Securities LLC Reduces Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Park Avenue Securities LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 5.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,718 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,142 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,444,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in Fastenal by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,582,669 shares of the company’s stock valued at $468,957,000 after acquiring an additional 337,168 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Fastenal by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,928,209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $513,510,000 after acquiring an additional 1,043,529 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in Fastenal by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,651,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $363,445,000 after acquiring an additional 568,372 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at about $405,513,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Fastenal by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,800,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $310,931,000 after acquiring an additional 109,028 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAST has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. HSBC increased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $68.80.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, Director Daniel L. Johnson bought 3,350 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $68.38 per share, for a total transaction of $229,073.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at $724,486.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Fastenal news, EVP James C. Jansen sold 11,428 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total transaction of $732,191.96. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,176 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,677,096.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson bought 3,350 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $68.38 per share, for a total transaction of $229,073.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at $724,486.10. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of FAST stock opened at $65.34 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $66.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a current ratio of 4.83. Fastenal has a one year low of $53.83 and a one year high of $79.04. The firm has a market cap of $37.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 1.02.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.01). Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.98% and a net margin of 15.68%. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 25th were issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 24th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.39%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.23%.

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.