Anchor Investment Management LLC Lowers Stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Anchor Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 19.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,564 shares of the company’s stock after selling 636 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $161,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in Fastenal during the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,303,000. Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group lifted its position in Fastenal by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group now owns 19,431 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,221,000 after acquiring an additional 1,057 shares during the period. Cim LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,777,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal during the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,409,000. Finally, Clear Rock Advisors LLC increased its stake in Fastenal by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Clear Rock Advisors LLC now owns 43,149 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,711,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley assumed 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. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $56.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price objective (down from $85.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.43.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In related news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $19,489,266.52. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $19,489,266.52. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.68, for a total transaction of $3,484,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,929,734.24. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of FAST stock opened at $70.18 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $68.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $68.22. Fastenal has a 52 week low of $54.69 and a 52 week high of $79.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.18 billion, a PE ratio of 34.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 12th. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 33.54%. The firm had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.