Motley Fool Asset Management LLC Has $15.23 Million Stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST)

Key Points

• Motley Fool Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Fastenal by 5.4%, selling 11,152 shares, resulting in ownership of 196,334 shares valued at approximately $15.2 million.
• Fastenal's recent quarterly earnings exceeded expectations, reporting an EPS of $0.29, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28, with revenue increasing 8.6% year-over-year to $2.08 billion.
• Fastenal's CFO recently sold 21,052 shares of the company at an average price of $45.21, representing a significant decrease in their ownership of the stock.

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 5.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 196,334 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,152 shares during the quarter. Fastenal comprises 0.9% of Motley Fool Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC's holdings in Fastenal were worth $15,226,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 73,317,271 shares of the company's stock valued at $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 first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,615,915 shares of the company's stock worth $1,753,864,000 after acquiring an additional 1,850,871 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Fastenal by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,275,793 shares of the company's stock worth $595,112,000 after acquiring an additional 74,903 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Fastenal by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,322,739 shares of the company's stock worth $526,578,000 after acquiring an additional 966,629 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,018,546 shares of the company's stock worth $504,703,000 after buying an additional 116,866 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on FAST shares. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Stephens increased 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. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Fastenal from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $55.00 in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Loop Capital reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $46.36.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.05, for a total value of $2,341,188.20. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 11,880 shares in the company, valued at $570,834. This trade represents a 80.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.03, for a total transaction of $1,662,414.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 137,112 shares of company stock worth $6,304,410 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Trading Up 1.6%

Fastenal stock traded up $0.76 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $49.21. 4,833,547 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,330,524. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.73. Fastenal Company has a 52 week low of $32.04 and a 52 week high of $49.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.48 billion, a PE ratio of 47.32, a P/E/G ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 4.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 32.33%. Fastenal's quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.25 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Stockholders 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.