Element Capital Management LLC Takes $2.74 Million Position in Fastenal Company $FAST

Key Points

• Element Capital Management LLC has acquired a new stake in Fastenal by purchasing 35,378 shares valued at approximately $2.74 million in the first quarter.
• Several hedge funds, including Charles Schwab and GAMMA Investing, have significantly increased their positions in Fastenal, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.
• The company's recent dividend declaration has an annualized yield of 1.8%, with plans to pay $0.22 per share on August 26th.

Element Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 35,378 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,744,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Horizon Financial Services LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 506 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 1st quarter valued at $49,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 1st quarter valued at $57,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on FAST shares. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 target price on Fastenal and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a 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 stock from $47.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Wolfe Research restated a "positive" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Loop Capital reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $46.36.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.03, for a total value of $1,662,414.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 21,052 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $460,780.32. The trade was a 67.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 111,230 shares of company stock valued at $5,288,364. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Trading Up 0.5%

NASDAQ:FAST traded up $0.23 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $49.11. 4,540,599 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,865,687. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.95. Fastenal Company has a one year low of $32.04 and a one year high of $49.26. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.02. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.07 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.25 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 29th. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio is currently 84.62%.

About Fastenal

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.