Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Has $995,000 Position in Fastenal Company $FAST

Key Points

• Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. increased its holdings in Fastenal Company by 210.6% during Q1, owning a total of 12,855 shares valued at around $995,000.
• Fastenal reported $0.29 earnings per share for the latest quarter, exceeding analyst predictions of $0.28, and had an 8.6% increase in revenue compared to the previous year.
• The company's quarterly dividend was recently set at $0.22 per share, resulting in an annual yield of 1.8%, with a dividend payout ratio of 84.62%.

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 210.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,855 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,716 shares during the quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.'s holdings in Fastenal were worth $995,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in FAST. Horizon Financial Services LLC boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 533 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. lifted its stake in Fastenal by 481.9% during the fourth quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 611 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in Fastenal during the first quarter worth about $49,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 1st quarter worth approximately $57,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 5,661.5% in 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 at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, CFO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 21,052 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was 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 $460,780.32. This represents a 67.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was 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 approximately $570,834. This represents a 80.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 111,230 shares of company stock valued at $5,288,364 over the last three months. 0.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FAST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised Fastenal from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the company from $47.00 to $55.00 in a report on Thursday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Fastenal from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price objective on Fastenal in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Thursday. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. 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 given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $46.36.

Fastenal Stock Up 2.5%

Fastenal stock traded up $1.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $50.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,442,493 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,864,219. The company has a market cap of $57.83 billion, a PE ratio of 48.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.59 and a beta of 0.95. 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 firm's 50 day moving average is $45.26 and its 200 day moving average is $41.35. Fastenal Company has a 52-week low of $32.04 and a 52-week high of $50.60.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 EPS 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 business had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.25 EPS. Fastenal's revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate 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 given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 29th. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 84.62%.

About Fastenal

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.