Fastenal Company $FAST Shares Sold by Andra AP fonden

Key Points

• Andra AP fonden cut its Fastenal stake by 77.7% in the second quarter, selling 364,500 shares and retaining 104,519 shares worth approximately $5.02 million. Institutional investors collectively own 81.38% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with six Buy, five Hold, and two Sell ratings; the consensus rating is Hold with an average price target of $49.50.
• Fastenal reported quarterly revenue of $2.39 billion, up 14.7% year over year, while earnings of $0.33 per share matched estimates. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.26 per share, representing a 2.0% yield.

Andra AP fonden decreased its holdings in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 77.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 104,519 shares of the company's stock after selling 364,500 shares during the period. Andra AP fonden's holdings in Fastenal were worth $5,020,000 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. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Evergreen Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Palladiem LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Fastenal by 69.6% during the first quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 748 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 307 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FAST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "underperform" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. DA Davidson reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $46.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $49.50.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of FAST opened at $50.99 on Thursday. Fastenal Company has a 1 year low of $38.97 and a 1 year high of $52.92. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $49.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.91. The company has a market capitalization of $58.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.21, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a current ratio of 4.18.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.45% and a return on equity of 34.03%. The firm had revenue of $2.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.29 EPS. The company's revenue was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Fastenal Company will post 1.26 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 28th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is a positive change from Fastenal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 28th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio is currently 88.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Michael Ancius sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.00, for a total value of $147,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 58,690 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,875,810. This represents a 4.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Rita J. Heise sold 34,964 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.05, for a total value of $1,749,948.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,001,000. This trade represents a 63.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Fastenal Company Profile

Fastenal Company NASDAQ: FAST is a distributor of industrial and construction supplies. The company provides fasteners such as bolts, nuts, screws and related hardware, along with safety products, tools, material-handling equipment, welding supplies, janitorial products and other maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) materials.

Fastenal serves manufacturers, construction companies, contractors, government organizations and other commercial customers. Its offerings are delivered through a network of branch locations, customer-specific onsite operations, industrial vending machines, e-commerce platforms and other supply-chain services designed to help customers manage inventory and reduce procurement time.

Founded in 1967 by Bob Kierlin in Winona, Minnesota, Fastenal has expanded from a regional fastener supplier into an international industrial distributor.

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