Fastenal Company $FAST Stock Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group reduced its Fastenal stake by 2.8%, selling 78,186 shares and retaining 2.68 million shares valued at approximately $132.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 81.38% of the company.
• Fastenal shares opened at $52.55, near their 52-week high, after the company reported quarterly revenue growth of 15.5% and EPS of $0.35, exceeding analyst expectations.
• Analysts have a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $51.46, while Fastenal declared a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, representing a 2.0% annualized yield.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lessened its stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,681,223 shares of the company's stock after selling 78,186 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.23% of Fastenal worth $132,801,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of FAST. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,105,454,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $39,417,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased 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 valued at $747,395,000 after purchasing an additional 183,238 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,347,343 shares of the company's stock valued at $496,983,000 after purchasing an additional 50,335 shares during the period. Finally, CX Institutional lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1,073.1% in the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 203,749 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,092,000 after purchasing an additional 186,381 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FAST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Friday, September 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. DA Davidson set a $51.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Argus increased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "underperform" rating and set a $47.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $51.46.

Fastenal Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $52.55 on Tuesday. Fastenal Company has a 52-week low of $38.97 and a 52-week high of $53.30. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $50.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.24. The company has a quick ratio of 2.11, a current ratio of 3.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a market cap of $60.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.69.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 14th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.01. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.62% and a return on equity of 35.13%. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.29 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Fastenal Company will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 28th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 28th. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.87%.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, Director Rita J. Heise sold 34,964 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.05, for a total transaction of $1,749,948.20. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 20,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,001,000. The trade was a 63.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

About Fastenal

Fastenal Company is a distributor of industrial and construction supplies headquartered in Winona, Minnesota. Founded in 1967, the company primarily serves businesses that require products for manufacturing, construction, maintenance, repair and operations.

Its product range includes threaded fasteners, bolts, nuts, screws, industrial and safety supplies, tools, electrical and plumbing products, material-handling equipment, and other related items. Fastenal also provides inventory-management solutions, including automated vending machines, customer-specific inventory programs and onsite services designed to improve product availability and purchasing efficiency.

Fastenal serves customers through a network of locations and sales channels across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe and parts of Asia.

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