OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp Has $3.55 Million Position in Fastenal Company $FAST

Key Points

• OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp increased its holdings in Fastenal Company by 13.3%, acquiring an additional 5,377 shares valued at approximately $3.54 million.
• Fastenal recently reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.29, beating estimates of $0.28, with revenues increasing by 8.6% compared to the previous year.
• Insider trading activity included CFO Sheryl Ann Lisowski selling 21,052 shares, reflecting a 67.38% decrease in her stake in the company.

OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp raised its stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 13.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 45,761 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,377 shares during the quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp's holdings in Fastenal were worth $3,549,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Horizon Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 5,330.0% during the first quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 543 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. increased its holdings in shares of 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 period. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the first quarter worth approximately $49,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the first quarter worth approximately $57,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 5,661.5% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 749 shares of the company's stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 736 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Fastenal Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of FAST stock traded down $0.49 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $49.17. 2,505,412 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,533,191. The company has a market cap of $56.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 4.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $46.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.92. Fastenal Company has a 1-year low of $32.04 and a 1-year high of $50.63.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.01. The company 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 was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.25 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 29th. Fastenal's payout ratio is 84.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In related news, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of the business'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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 21,052 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.21, for a total value of $951,760.92. Following 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. Insiders have sold a total of 111,230 shares of company stock worth $5,288,364 in the last three months. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on FAST. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Fastenal from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Baird R W upgraded Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Stephens raised their price objective on Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Finally, Loop Capital restated a "hold" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fastenal presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $46.36.

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.