Baillie Gifford & Co. Lowers Position in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST)

Key Points

• Baillie Gifford & Co. reduced its holdings in Fastenal by 5.2%, owning approximately 2.45 million shares valued at $189.64 million as of their latest SEC filing.
• Fastenal recently reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate of $0.28, and achieved revenue of $2.08 billion compared to the expected $2.07 billion.
• Insider activity included CFO Sheryl Ann Lisowski selling over 21,000 shares, representing a significant 67.38% decrease in her ownership.

Baillie Gifford & Co. reduced its position in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 5.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,445,409 shares of the company's stock after selling 133,042 shares during the quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. owned about 0.43% of Fastenal worth $189,641,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Horizon Financial Services LLC raised 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 worth $42,000 after buying an additional 533 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. raised its stake 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 buying an additional 506 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal during the 1st quarter worth approximately $57,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised 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 worth $58,000 after buying an additional 736 shares during the period. Finally, Close Asset Management Ltd raised its stake in Fastenal by 156.4% during the 1st quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd now owns 800 shares of the company's stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 488 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on FAST shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Fastenal from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Loop Capital reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Fastenal from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wolfe Research reissued a "positive" rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price objective on Fastenal in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $45.64.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fastenal news, Director Scott Satterlee sold 19,340 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.76, for a total transaction of $768,861.70. Following the sale, the director owned 50,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,987,750. This represents a 27.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 the stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 73,116 shares of company stock worth $3,069,670 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of FAST stock traded up $0.05 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $46.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,052,247 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,668,316. The company has a market cap of $53.52 billion, a PE ratio of 44.84, a P/E/G ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 4.22, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The business has a fifty day moving average of $42.85 and a 200-day moving average of $39.98. Fastenal Company has a 52 week low of $32.04 and a 52 week high of $48.10.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.33% and a net margin of 15.30%. The business had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.25 earnings per share. Fastenal's revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 29th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio is currently 84.62%.

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.