Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Acquired by Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Fastenal by 6.9% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 375,818 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 1.01% of the company valued at $448.9 million.
• Fastenal's CFO recently sold 21,052 shares at an average price of $45.21, reducing her position by 67.38%.
• Analysts have shown mixed sentiments about Fastenal, with target prices ranging from $40 to $82, and an average consensus rating of "Hold".

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 6.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,788,656 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 375,818 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned 1.01% of Fastenal worth $448,910,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. Horizon Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 5,330.0% during the 1st quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 543 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 533 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. increased its holdings in Fastenal by 481.9% in the 4th quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 611 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the 1st quarter worth approximately $57,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 5,661.5% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 749 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 736 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Close Asset Management Ltd increased its holdings in Fastenal by 156.4% in the 1st quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd now owns 800 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FAST traded up $0.31 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $48.15. The company had a trading volume of 1,167,224 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,635,000. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.61. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $55.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.37 and a beta of 0.95. Fastenal Company has a fifty-two week low of $32.04 and a fifty-two week high of $48.38.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 32.33%. The firm 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 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share 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 issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 29th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Fastenal's payout ratio is 84.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAST has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Robert W. Baird upgraded Fastenal from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the company from $47.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Baird R W upgraded Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Wolfe Research reiterated a "positive" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $46.36.

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.