Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Sells 1,236 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board decreased its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 0.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 346,571 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,236 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned approximately 0.06% of Fastenal worth $21,779,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its position in Fastenal by 0.3% during the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 496,758 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,216,000 after buying an additional 1,582 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 34,415 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,163,000 after acquiring an additional 1,155 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 20.9% during the 2nd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,543 shares of the company’s stock valued at $223,000 after acquiring an additional 612 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Fastenal by 117.1% during the second quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 749,812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,118,000 after purchasing an additional 404,502 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MQS Management LLC lifted its position in Fastenal by 83.7% during the second quarter. MQS Management LLC now owns 8,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $509,000 after purchasing an additional 3,690 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total transaction of $3,116,996.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,489,266.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total transaction of $3,116,996.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,489,266.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.68, for a total value of $3,484,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,929,734.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on FAST. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 price target (down previously from $85.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $56.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fastenal has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.43.

Fastenal Stock Performance

FAST opened at $70.75 on Monday. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $53.83 and a 52-week high of $79.04. The company has a quick ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a market cap of $40.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $68.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.41.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 12th. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.51. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.54% and a net margin of 15.54%. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.61%.

Fastenal Company Profile

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.