Groupe la Francaise raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 15.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,538 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,643 shares during the quarter. Groupe la Francaise's holdings in Fastenal were worth $4,395,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Horizon Financial Services LLC boosted its position in Fastenal by 5,330.0% during the 1st quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 543 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. boosted its position in Fastenal by 481.9% during 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 during the period. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in Fastenal during the 1st quarter worth $49,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal during the 1st quarter worth $57,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Fastenal by 5,661.5% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 749 shares of the company's stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 736 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company's stock.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other news, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.05, for a total value of $2,341,188.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 11,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $570,834. This trade represents a 80.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.03, for a total value of $1,662,414.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 111,230 shares of company stock valued at $5,288,364. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Fastenal Stock Performance
NASDAQ:FAST traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $50.18. 3,691,992 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,557,894. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $45.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.59. Fastenal Company has a 12 month low of $32.04 and a 12 month high of $50.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.55 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 4.22, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.
Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion during 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.25 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Fastenal Cuts Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th were issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 29th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio is presently 84.62%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
FAST has been the topic of a number of research reports. Baird R W raised Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed a "positive" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Stephens boosted their target price on Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Loop Capital reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised Fastenal from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $46.36.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Fastenal
Fastenal Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
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