Royal Bank of Canada Has $527.50 Million Holdings in Fastenal Company $FAST

Key Points

• The Royal Bank of Canada decreased its stake in Fastenal by 3.1%, owning approximately 1.19% of the company with a value of $527.5 million after selling 216,472 shares.
• Fastenal's stock has seen diverse analyst ratings, with one analyst giving it a Strong Buy and others varying between Buy, Hold, and Sell, resulting in a consensus rating of Hold.
• In recent insider transactions, Fastenal executives sold a total of 111,230 shares worth over $5.2 million last quarter, reflecting a significant change in their ownership stakes.

Royal Bank of Canada reduced its holdings in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 3.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,802,074 shares of the company's stock after selling 216,472 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned 1.19% of Fastenal worth $527,502,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Horizon Financial Services LLC increased 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 worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal in the first quarter valued at approximately $49,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the first quarter worth $57,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 736 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Close Asset Management Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 156.4% during the first quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd now owns 800 shares of the company's stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAST has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday. Robert W. Baird upgraded Fastenal from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $47.00 to $55.00 in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Baird R W upgraded Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Loop Capital reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $46.82.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 21,052 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total transaction of $333,000.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 11,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $583,747.98. This represents a 36.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 111,230 shares of company stock worth $5,288,364 in the last ninety days. 0.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of FAST traded up $0.75 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $50.27. The company had a trading volume of 6,073,405 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,527,943. The business has a fifty day moving average of $46.78 and a 200-day moving average of $42.11. 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 firm has a market cap of $57.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.34, a PEG ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 0.97. Fastenal Company has a 12 month low of $32.04 and a 12 month high of $50.63.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.33% and a net margin of 15.30%.The business had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.25 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 29th were given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was 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 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.