Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Fastenal Company $FAST

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group reduced its stake in Fastenal by 8.0% in Q4, selling 1,000,535 shares and now owning 11,569,456 shares (1.01% of the company) valued at about $464.3 million.
• Analysts hold a consensus rating of Hold on Fastenal with an average target price of $49.77, following mixed recent revisions (five Buy, six Hold, two Sell).
• Fastenal reported quarterly EPS of $0.30 (meeting estimates) and revenue of $2.20 billion, up 12.4% YoY, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.24 (2.1% yield).

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 8.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,569,456 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,000,535 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 1.01% of Fastenal worth $464,284,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fulcrum Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth approximately $437,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Fastenal by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 144,703 shares of the company's stock worth $5,807,000 after buying an additional 9,571 shares during the period. KPP Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Fastenal by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,052 shares of the company's stock worth $684,000 after buying an additional 541 shares during the period. Strs Ohio lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 252.6% during the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 96,798 shares of the company's stock worth $3,885,000 after purchasing an additional 69,348 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations now owns 152,430 shares of the company's stock worth $6,117,000 after purchasing an additional 20,882 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on FAST shares. Barclays boosted their target price 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. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Fastenal from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "underperform" rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Wolfe Research reduced their target price on shares of Fastenal from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $49.77.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.1%

FAST opened at $44.88 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.52 billion, a PE ratio of 39.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.75. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $45.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 2.34. Fastenal Company has a 12-month low of $38.97 and a 12-month high of $50.63.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 13th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.30. The firm had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.19 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.39% and a return on equity of 33.25%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 1.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In related news, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 36,920 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.34, for a total value of $1,747,792.80. Following the sale, the director directly owned 40,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,893,600. This represents a 48.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Fastenal 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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