LGT Group Foundation Lowers Stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST)

Key Points

• LGT Group Foundation reduced its stake in Fastenal Company by 34.3%, now holding approximately 0.08% of the company valued at $36 million.
• Fastenal reported a quarterly EPS of $0.29, surpassing analysts' expectations and showing an 8.6% increase in revenue compared to the previous year.
• Several hedge funds increased their investments in Fastenal, with Horizon Financial Services lifting its stake by an astounding 5,330% during the 1st quarter.

LGT Group Foundation reduced its holdings in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 34.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 464,244 shares of the company's stock after selling 242,530 shares during the period. LGT Group Foundation owned approximately 0.08% of Fastenal worth $36,002,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Horizon Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 5,330.0% in 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 period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 481.9% in the fourth quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 611 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the first quarter valued at about $49,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the first quarter valued at about $57,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 5,661.5% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 749 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing 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 related news, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 32,724 shares of the business'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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 21,052 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.21, for a total transaction of $951,760.92. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Baird R W upgraded shares of Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Wolfe Research reiterated a "positive" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $46.36.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $47.85 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $54.92 billion, a PE ratio of 46.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.37 and a beta of 0.95. Fastenal Company has a 12 month low of $32.04 and a 12 month high of $48.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.22 and a quick ratio of 2.12. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.61.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.07 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 32.33%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.25 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 29th. Fastenal's payout ratio is presently 84.62%.

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.

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