Fastenal Company $FAST Shares Sold by First Long Island Investors LLC

Key Points

• First Long Island Investors LLC reduced its stake in Fastenal Company by 15.6% in the first quarter, selling 47,462 shares and holding a total of 257,149 shares at a valuation of approximately $19.9 million.
• Several large investors, including Charles Schwab and Raiffeisen Bank, have increased their positions in Fastenal, highlighting institutional confidence in the company.
• Fastenal recently reported earnings per share of $0.29, exceeding analysts' expectations, while the company announced a dividend cut with an annual yield of 1.9% and a payout ratio of 84.62%.

First Long Island Investors LLC cut its stake in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 15.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 257,149 shares of the company's stock after selling 47,462 shares during the period. Fastenal accounts for approximately 1.6% of First Long Island Investors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. First Long Island Investors LLC's holdings in Fastenal were worth $19,942,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 8.9% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,615,915 shares of the company's stock worth $1,753,864,000 after purchasing an additional 1,850,871 shares in the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 7.5% during the first quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 181,482 shares of the company's stock worth $14,074,000 after purchasing an additional 12,721 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 3.9% during the first quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 195,748 shares of the company's stock worth $15,180,000 after purchasing an additional 7,400 shares in the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 21.5% during the first quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 35,606 shares of the company's stock worth $2,712,000 after purchasing an additional 6,303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 23.9% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,459,124 shares of the company's stock worth $190,705,000 after purchasing an additional 473,987 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on FAST. Loop Capital reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Fastenal from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $55.00 in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 target price on Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Northcoast Research began coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research reiterated 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 given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $46.82.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of FAST traded down $0.51 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $47.25. The company had a trading volume of 5,560,812 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,516,934. Fastenal Company has a 52-week low of $34.69 and a 52-week high of $50.63. 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 $54.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.43, a PEG ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 0.97. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $47.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.68.

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

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 29th were issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 29th. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 84.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total value of $333,000.14. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $583,747.98. This trade represents a 36.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 21,052 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.21, for a total value of $951,760.92. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $460,780.32. This trade represents a 67.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 111,230 shares of company stock worth $5,288,364 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

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.