767,347 Shares in Fastenal Company $FAST Purchased by Select Equity Group L.P.

Key Points

• Select Equity Group L.P. acquired 767,347 shares of Fastenal Company, valued around $59.5 million, increasing institutional ownership to 81.38%.
• Fastenal's CFO and another insider sold significant shares recently, with insider sales totaling over $5.2 million in the past three months.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Fastenal, with price targets ranging from $40 to $82, and a consensus target of $46.82.

Select Equity Group L.P. bought a new position in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 767,347 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $59,508,000. Select Equity Group L.P. owned 0.13% of Fastenal as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. 1248 Management LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal during the first quarter worth about $36,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in Fastenal by 5,330.0% during the 1st quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 543 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 533 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in Fastenal during the 1st quarter worth about $49,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal during the 1st quarter worth about $57,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Fastenal by 5,661.5% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 749 shares of the company's stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 736 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In related news, CFO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 21,052 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.21, for a total value of $951,760.92. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 10,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $460,780.32. This represents a 67.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.05, for a total value of $2,341,188.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 11,880 shares in the company, valued at $570,834. This represents a 80.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 111,230 shares of company stock worth $5,288,364. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on FAST shares. Loop Capital restated a "hold" rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 price objective on Fastenal and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird upgraded Fastenal from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $55.00 in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price objective on Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $46.82.

Fastenal Price Performance

NASDAQ FAST opened at $47.99 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.22 and a quick ratio of 2.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.37 and a beta of 0.97. Fastenal Company has a 52-week low of $32.53 and a 52-week high of $50.63.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 32.33%. The firm's revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.25 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 29th were issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 29th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio is currently 84.62%.

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.

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