Maven Securities LTD Invests $1.54 Million in Fastenal Company $FAST

Key Points

• Maven Securities LTD has invested approximately $1.54 million in Fastenal Company by acquiring 19,822 shares, indicating growing institutional interest in the stock.
• Fastenal's insiders have sold a significant number of shares recently, totaling over 111,000 shares valued at approximately $5.3 million within the last ninety days.
• Despite recent trades, Fastenal reported earnings of $0.29 per share, beating analyst expectations and showcasing an 8.6% year-over-year revenue growth to $2.08 billion.

Maven Securities LTD acquired a new position in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 19,822 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,537,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 73,317,271 shares of the company's stock worth $5,685,754,000 after acquiring an additional 1,016,479 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Fastenal by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,615,915 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,753,864,000 after buying an additional 1,850,871 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Fastenal by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,275,793 shares of the company's stock valued at $595,112,000 after buying an additional 74,903 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Fastenal by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,322,739 shares of the company's stock valued at $526,578,000 after buying an additional 966,629 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in Fastenal by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,018,546 shares of the company's stock valued at $504,703,000 after buying an additional 116,866 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST traded up $1.25 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $50.39. 5,442,493 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,864,219. Fastenal Company has a 52 week low of $32.04 and a 52 week high of $50.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a current ratio of 4.22. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $45.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.32. The company has a market cap of $57.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.95.

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, beating 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 company had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.25 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 29th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio is currently 84.62%.

Insider Activity

In other Fastenal news, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total transaction of $333,000.14. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $583,747.98. This represents a 36.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.05, for a total transaction of $2,341,188.20. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 11,880 shares of the company's stock, valued at $570,834. This represents a 80.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 111,230 shares of company stock valued at $5,288,364 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on FAST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Northcoast Research began coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. Baird R W upgraded shares of Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of 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. Finally, Wolfe Research reiterated a "positive" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 14th. One 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.