Fastenal Company $FAST Shares Sold by AQR Capital Management LLC

AQR Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 33.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 514,423 shares of the company's stock after selling 259,694 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Fastenal worth $39,358,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 0.3% in the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 49,219 shares of the company's stock worth $3,817,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 0.4% in the first quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 32,992 shares of the company's stock worth $2,559,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 0.9% in the first quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 15,886 shares of the company's stock worth $1,142,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. Salvus Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.6% in the first quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,000 shares of the company's stock worth $698,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. Finally, Essex Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.7% during the first quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 8,870 shares of the company's stock worth $688,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on FAST shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 price target on shares of Fastenal and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Northcoast Research started coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, August 21st. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Wolfe Research restated a "positive" rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 14th. One 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Fastenal presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $46.82.

Fastenal Price Performance

NASDAQ FAST opened at $47.99 on Monday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $55.08 billion, a PE ratio of 46.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $46.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.25. Fastenal Company has a 12-month low of $32.53 and a 12-month high of $50.63.

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

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th were given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 29th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.

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