Alliancebernstein L.P. Has $47.08 Million Holdings in Fastenal Company $FAST

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in Fastenal Company by 1.3%, owning approximately 607,120 shares valued at $47.08 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Fastenal's quarterly earnings showed a profit of $0.29 per share, surpassing estimates, and its revenue increased by 8.6% year-over-year.
• Insider trading indicates significant sales, with COO Jeffery Michael Watts selling 48,724 shares, reducing his ownership by over 80% in recent transactions.

Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 1.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 607,120 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 7,989 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.11% of Fastenal worth $47,082,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 73,317,271 shares of the company's stock worth $5,685,754,000 after purchasing an additional 1,016,479 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 8.9% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,615,915 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,753,864,000 after purchasing an additional 1,850,871 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 1.7% during the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,418,765 shares of the company's stock valued at $652,875,000 after purchasing an additional 142,972 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,018,546 shares of the company's stock valued at $504,703,000 after purchasing an additional 116,866 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,591,850 shares of the company's stock worth $511,198,000 after acquiring an additional 168,830 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other news, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.05, for a total transaction of $2,341,188.20. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 11,880 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $570,834. This trade represents a 80.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 21,052 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.21, for a total transaction of $951,760.92. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 111,230 shares of company stock valued at $5,288,364 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Stock Down 4.5%

Fastenal stock opened at $47.99 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $55.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.14, a P/E/G ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 4.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Fastenal Company has a twelve month low of $32.53 and a twelve month high of $50.63. The company's 50-day moving average price is $46.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.25.

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

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 29th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 84.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on FAST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 target price on shares of Fastenal and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Fastenal from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Stephens increased their target price on Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $46.82.

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.

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