Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Sells 46,706 Shares of Fastenal Company $FAST

Key Points

• Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. reduced its stake in Fastenal by 42.0% in the quarter, selling 46,706 shares and retaining 64,578 shares valued at about $2.592 million per its latest 13F filing.
• Fastenal reported quarterly results with $0.30 EPS (in line with estimates) and $2.20 billion revenue (up 12.4% year-over-year), and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share (annualized $0.96, ~2.1% yield).
• Insider activity included Director Reyne K. Wisecup selling 36,920 shares on March 5 for roughly $1.75 million, a transaction that cut their ownership by about 48%.

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. cut its stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 42.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 64,578 shares of the company's stock after selling 46,706 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Fastenal were worth $2,592,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of FAST. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 106.1% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 15,431,393 shares of the company's stock valued at $648,118,000 after purchasing an additional 7,943,217 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 151,515,539 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,430,322,000 after purchasing an additional 2,346,045 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 14.0% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,215,875 shares of the company's stock valued at $893,307,000 after purchasing an additional 2,242,116 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 90.7% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,590,292 shares of the company's stock valued at $176,068,000 after purchasing an additional 1,707,396 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 112.1% in the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 2,771,861 shares of the company's stock valued at $116,418,000 after purchasing an additional 1,464,781 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FAST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reissued a "positive" rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Friday, March 27th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $46.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Raymond James Financial set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Fastenal from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $49.77.

Fastenal Price Performance

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $44.88 on Tuesday. Fastenal Company has a 52 week low of $38.97 and a 52 week high of $50.63. The firm has a market cap of $51.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.75. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $45.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a current ratio of 4.39.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 13th. The company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.30. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.39% and a return on equity of 33.25%. The business had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. Fastenal's revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Fastenal Company will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 28th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 28th. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 84.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 36,920 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.34, for a total transaction of $1,747,792.80. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 40,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,893,600. This trade represents a 48.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Company Profile

Fastenal NASDAQ: FAST is a wholesale distributor of industrial and construction supplies, best known for its broad assortment of fasteners such as bolts, nuts, screws and anchors. Founded in Winona, Minnesota, Fastenal has grown from a regional supplier into a national and international distributor serving a wide range of end markets, including manufacturing, construction, maintenance, repair and operations (MRO), and government customers. The company is publicly traded and operates through a network of locally staffed branches combined with national distribution capabilities.

Product offerings extend beyond fasteners to include tools, safety and personal protective equipment, power transmission components, cutting and welding supplies, janitorial and material handling items, and other industrial consumables.

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