Fastenal Company $FAST Holdings Reduced by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Key Points

• Russell Investments cut its Fastenal stake by 20.4% in the third quarter, selling 408,124 shares; it held 1.60 million shares worth about $79.2 million afterward.
• Fastenal beat quarterly estimates, reporting EPS of $0.35 versus $0.34 expected and revenue of $2.46 billion, up 15.5% year over year. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share.
• Analyst views were mixed, with a consensus rating of “Hold” and a $51.46 target price. Shares traded at $55.19 in Friday’s session, down 0.6%.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lowered its position in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 20.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,597,060 shares of the company's stock after selling 408,124 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.14% of Fastenal worth $79,225,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 2nd quarter worth about $5,105,454,000. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 56,438,968 shares of the company's stock worth $2,710,764,000 after purchasing an additional 869,793 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 2nd quarter worth about $859,310,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 12.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 16,292,425 shares of the company's stock worth $755,969,000 after purchasing an additional 1,744,193 shares during the period. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,561,007 shares of the company's stock worth $747,395,000 after purchasing an additional 183,238 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of FAST traded down $0.36 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $55.19. 4,428,598 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,322,412. Fastenal Company has a 1-year low of $38.97 and a 1-year high of $56.27. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $51.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.71. The company has a current ratio of 3.93, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a market cap of $63.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.51, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.66.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 14th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.44 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 35.13% and a net margin of 15.62%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.29 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 1.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 28th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 28th. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio is currently 83.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FAST has been the topic of several research reports. Argus raised their price target on shares of Fastenal from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Fastenal from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a $47.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $51.46.

About Fastenal

Fastenal Company is a distributor of industrial and construction supplies, serving businesses that need products to maintain facilities, support production and complete building projects. Its offerings include fasteners such as screws, nuts and bolts, as well as safety supplies, tools and other maintenance, repair and operations products. In addition to product distribution, Fastenal provides services designed to help customers manage supplies and purchasing. These include inventory management, on-site support and industrial vending solutions that make frequently used items available at customer facilities.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.