Abacus Wealth Partners LLC Invests $478,000 in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST)

Key Points

• Abacus Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal Company during the first quarter, purchasing 6,166 shares valued at approximately $478,000.
• Insiders have recently sold a total of 73,116 shares of Fastenal stock valued at around $3.07 million, with key executives reducing their positions significantly.
• Fastenal reported earnings per share of $0.29 for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, while revenue increased by 8.6% year-over-year to $2.08 billion.

Abacus Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 6,166 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $478,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Horizon Financial Services LLC increased its stake in Fastenal by 5,330.0% during the 1st quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 543 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. lifted its position in Fastenal by 481.9% during the 4th quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 611 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 506 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal during the 1st quarter valued at about $57,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Fastenal by 5,661.5% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 749 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 736 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Close Asset Management Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 156.4% during the first quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd now owns 800 shares of the company's stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other news, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 32,724 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.23, for a total transaction of $1,349,046.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 21,052 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.21, for a total value of $951,760.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 10,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $460,780.32. This trade represents a 67.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 73,116 shares of company stock worth $3,069,670. Insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Price Performance

FAST stock traded down $0.34 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $45.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,815,263 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,674,560. The stock has a market cap of $51.76 billion, a PE ratio of 43.41, a P/E/G ratio of 4.14 and a beta of 0.95. The company's 50 day moving average is $43.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.24. Fastenal Company has a fifty-two week low of $32.04 and a fifty-two week high of $48.10. The company has a current ratio of 4.22, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

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

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 29th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 29th. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 84.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on FAST. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Stephens raised their target price on shares of Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wolfe Research restated a "positive" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Loop Capital reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Fastenal from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Fastenal presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $45.64.

Fastenal 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.