Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Cuts Stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD reduced its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 0.1% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,486,280 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,531 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $114,653,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hyperion Capital Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 1st quarter worth about $221,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 27.0% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 372,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,750,000 after purchasing an additional 79,146 shares during the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 14.9% during the first quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,942,747 shares of the company’s stock valued at $149,864,000 after purchasing an additional 251,946 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal during the first quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 13.8% during the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 61,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,722,000 after purchasing an additional 7,418 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP James C. Jansen sold 11,428 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total value of $732,191.96. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,176 shares in the company, valued at $1,677,096.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Fastenal news, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu purchased 500 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $63.28 per share, for a total transaction of $31,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $221,480. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,176 shares in the company, valued at $1,677,096.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of Fastenal stock traded down $0.08 on Monday, reaching $70.29. The stock had a trading volume of 491,979 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,689,589. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $53.83 and a 1 year high of $79.04. The company has a market cap of $40.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The business’s 50 day moving average is $65.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.92.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 12th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.51. The company had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.91 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 33.54%. Fastenal’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.06 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th will be given a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 26th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on FAST. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $56.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 15th. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 15th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price objective (down from $85.00) on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 15th. HSBC upped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $66.67.

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.