Abacus Wealth Partners LLC Makes New Investment 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 first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 6,166 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $478,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 0.3% during the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 49,219 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,817,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 4,134 shares of the company's stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 0.4% in the first quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 32,992 shares of the company's stock worth $2,559,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 0.9% in the first quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 15,886 shares of the company's stock worth $1,142,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Salvus Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 1.6% in the first quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,000 shares of the company's stock worth $698,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on FAST. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Fastenal from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Loop Capital restated a "hold" rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $45.64.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, CFO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 21,052 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,192 shares in the company, valued at $460,780.32. This trade represents a 67.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 32,724 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.23, for a total transaction of $1,349,046.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 73,116 shares of company stock worth $3,069,670 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST traded down $0.69 on Friday, reaching $45.44. The company had a trading volume of 7,660,893 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,974,050. Fastenal Company has a 52-week low of $32.04 and a 52-week high of $48.10. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $43.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.15 billion, a PE ratio of 43.69, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.95. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.01. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.33% and a net margin of 15.30%. The business had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.07 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.25 EPS. The business's revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 29th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 29th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio is presently 84.62%.

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.