Baird Financial Group Inc. Increases Stake in Fastenal Company $FAST

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Fastenal Company by 1.7%, now owning approximately 8.42 million shares valued at around $652.88 million.
• Fastenal reported quarterly earnings of $0.29 per share, exceeding estimates, with revenue of $2.08 billion, marking an 8.6% year-over-year increase.
• Several institutional investors, including Charles Schwab and Vanguard Group, have also significantly increased their holdings in Fastenal during the first quarter.

Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 1.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,418,765 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 142,972 shares during the quarter. Fastenal makes up about 1.3% of Baird Financial Group Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned about 1.47% of Fastenal worth $652,875,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Horizon Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 5,330.0% in the first quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 543 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. increased its holdings in Fastenal by 481.9% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in Fastenal during the first quarter worth about $49,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Fastenal during the first quarter worth about $57,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 5,661.5% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 749 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 736 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wolfe Research restated a "positive" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Fastenal from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fastenal presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $46.36.

Fastenal Price Performance

FAST stock traded up $0.33 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $49.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,729,378 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,530,581. The company has a quick ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 4.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 0.97. Fastenal Company has a 12 month low of $32.04 and a 12 month high of $50.63. The company has a 50 day moving average of $46.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.97.

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

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 29th were given 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 (DPR) is currently 84.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.03, for a total value of $1,662,414.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total value of $333,000.14. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $583,747.98. The trade was a 36.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 111,230 shares of company stock valued at $5,288,364 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

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.