Credit Agricole S A Decreases Stock Holdings in Fastenal Company $FAST

Key Points

• Credit Agricole S A reduced its stake in Fastenal by 5.7%, now holding approximately 155,627 shares worth about $12 million after selling 9,401 shares in the first quarter.
• Fastenal also experienced significant insider activity, with two executives selling over 41,000 shares combined in August, raising concerns about insider confidence in the company's prospects.
• Recent analysts' reports have mixed ratings, with Fastenal receiving targets between $45.00 and $82.00, reflecting a lack of consensus on its future stock performance.

Credit Agricole S A decreased its position in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 5.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 155,627 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,401 shares during the period. Credit Agricole S A's holdings in Fastenal were worth $12,069,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Fastenal by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,615,915 shares of the company's stock worth $1,753,864,000 after acquiring an additional 1,850,871 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 8,541.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,694,235 shares of the company's stock worth $131,388,000 after buying an additional 1,674,628 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 100.8% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,081,620 shares of the company's stock worth $221,600,000 after buying an additional 1,547,319 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal during the first quarter worth about $119,136,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Fastenal by 1.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 73,317,271 shares of the company's stock worth $5,685,754,000 after acquiring an additional 1,016,479 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Price Performance

FAST stock traded up $1.25 during trading on Friday, hitting $50.39. The stock had a trading volume of 5,442,493 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,864,219. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.22 and a quick ratio of 2.12. Fastenal Company has a twelve month low of $32.04 and a twelve month high of $50.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.45, a PEG ratio of 4.59 and a beta of 0.95. The company's 50-day moving average price is $45.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.35.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.25 EPS. Fastenal's revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 29th. Fastenal's payout ratio is presently 84.62%.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In related news, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total value of $333,000.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $583,747.98. The trade was a 36.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.05, for a total transaction of $2,341,188.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 11,880 shares in the company, valued at $570,834. This trade represents a 80.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 111,230 shares of company stock valued at $5,288,364. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Wolfe Research reaffirmed a "positive" rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 14th. Northcoast Research started coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Thursday. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Stephens raised their target price on Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Fastenal from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the company from $47.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 target price on Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $46.36.

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.