Pacer Advisors Inc. Has $4.50 Million Stock Position in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST)

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in Fastenal Company by 22.3%, selling 16,669 shares, and now holds 58,054 shares valued at approximately $4.5 million.
• Fastenal reported an 8.6% increase in quarterly revenue year-over-year, totaling $2.08 billion, with earnings per share surpassing analyst expectations at $0.29.
• The company has recently cut its dividend to $0.22 per share, resulting in an annualized payout of $0.88 and a dividend yield of 1.89%.

Pacer Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 22.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 58,054 shares of the company's stock after selling 16,669 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Fastenal were worth $4,502,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 15.4% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 5,811 shares of the company's stock valued at $451,000 after buying an additional 774 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 11.5% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 174,847 shares of the company's stock worth $13,559,000 after acquiring an additional 18,095 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 26.4% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 42,767 shares of the company's stock worth $3,317,000 after acquiring an additional 8,928 shares during the period. Advisor OS LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 1st quarter worth $203,000. Finally, Pinnacle Associates Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 5,057 shares of the company's stock worth $392,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST traded down $0.19 on Wednesday, reaching $46.41. The company had a trading volume of 5,809,125 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,688,588. Fastenal Company has a twelve month low of $32.04 and a twelve month high of $48.10. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $42.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.63, a P/E/G ratio of 4.27 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 4.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

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

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 29th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 29th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio is presently 84.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on FAST. Wolfe Research reiterated a "positive" rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 14th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price objective on Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 target price on Fastenal and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Fastenal from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Loop Capital restated a "hold" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $45.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 21,052 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.21, for a total transaction of $951,760.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 10,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $460,780.32. The trade was a 67.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 32,724 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.23, for a total value of $1,349,046.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 73,116 shares of company stock valued at $3,069,670. Insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Fastenal 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.