Fastenal Company $FAST Stock Position Trimmed by Eventide Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Eventide Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Fastenal Company by 32.0%, selling 186,863 shares and now owning around 0.07% of the company, valued at $30.7 million.
• Several analysts raised their price targets for Fastenal shares, with an average target of $46.36, while a majority have given it a "Hold" rating.
• Fastenal recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, reflecting an annualized payment of $0.88 with a yield of 1.8%.

Eventide Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 32.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 396,604 shares of the company's stock after selling 186,863 shares during the period. Eventide Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Fastenal worth $30,721,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at $496,000. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at $390,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at $379,000. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at $129,000. Finally, BOKF NA grew its holdings in Fastenal by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. BOKF NA now owns 6,353 shares of the company's stock valued at $455,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FAST has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Loop Capital reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Wolfe Research reissued a "positive" rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 14th. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday. One 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Fastenal has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $46.82.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In related news, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were 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 $583,747.98. This trade represents a 36.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 21,052 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.21, for a total transaction of $951,760.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 10,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $460,780.32. This represents a 67.38% 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. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of Fastenal stock traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $48.19. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,021,271 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,541,757. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $46.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a current ratio of 4.22. Fastenal Company has a one year low of $32.99 and a one year high of $50.63. The stock has a market cap of $55.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.97.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 32.33%. The company had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.07 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.25 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 29th. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 84.62%.

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.