Fastenal Company $FAST Shares Sold by Securian Asset Management Inc.

Key Points

• Securian Asset Management cut its Fastenal stake by 43.7% in the fourth quarter, leaving it with 31,217 shares worth about $1.25 million.
• Fastenal’s latest quarterly results came in roughly in line with expectations, with EPS of $0.30 and revenue of $2.20 billion, up 12.4% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share payable May 26, implying a 2.2% annualized yield, while analysts currently have a consensus Hold rating and a $49.77 price target.

Securian Asset Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 43.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,217 shares of the company's stock after selling 24,207 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,253,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of FAST. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 151,515,539 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,430,322,000 after purchasing an additional 2,346,045 shares during the period. National Pension Service boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,558,579 shares of the company's stock worth $76,433,000 after buying an additional 53,888 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,713,469 shares of the company's stock worth $181,626,000 after buying an additional 219,154 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Fastenal by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,387,472 shares of the company's stock worth $362,282,000 after buying an additional 90,095 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BlueStem Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the third quarter valued at approximately $634,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other news, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 36,920 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.34, for a total value of $1,747,792.80. Following the transaction, the director owned 40,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,893,600. This represents a 48.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Fastenal Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of FAST opened at $43.32 on Wednesday. Fastenal Company has a 12-month low of $38.97 and a 12-month high of $50.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.75. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $45.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.63. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 13th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.30. The business had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.19 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.39% and a return on equity of 33.25%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Fastenal Company will post 1.23 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 28th will be given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 28th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Fastenal's payout ratio is currently 84.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on FAST. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $46.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $48.00 to $55.00 in a report on Monday, April 13th. Morgan Stanley reissued a "positive" rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $49.77.

Fastenal Profile

Fastenal NASDAQ: FAST is a wholesale distributor of industrial and construction supplies, best known for its broad assortment of fasteners such as bolts, nuts, screws and anchors. Founded in Winona, Minnesota, Fastenal has grown from a regional supplier into a national and international distributor serving a wide range of end markets, including manufacturing, construction, maintenance, repair and operations (MRO), and government customers. The company is publicly traded and operates through a network of locally staffed branches combined with national distribution capabilities.

Product offerings extend beyond fasteners to include tools, safety and personal protective equipment, power transmission components, cutting and welding supplies, janitorial and material handling items, and other industrial consumables.

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