Fastenal Company $FAST Shares Purchased by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Fastenal by 29.7% in Q1, owning approximately 0.10% of the company, valued at $43.66 million.
• Fastenal reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.29, exceeding expectations, with revenue of $2.08 billion, marking an 8.6% year-over-year increase.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22, with an annualized yield of 1.8%, despite a payout ratio of 84.62%.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 29.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 564,783 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 129,254 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.10% of Fastenal worth $43,664,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Fastenal by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 73,317,271 shares of the company's stock worth $5,685,754,000 after buying an additional 1,016,479 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Fastenal by 8.9% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,615,915 shares of the company's stock worth $1,753,864,000 after acquiring an additional 1,850,871 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Fastenal by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,275,793 shares of the company's stock worth $595,112,000 after purchasing an additional 74,903 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,322,739 shares of the company's stock valued at $526,578,000 after buying an additional 966,629 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,018,546 shares of the company's stock valued at $504,703,000 after acquiring an additional 116,866 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ FAST traded up $0.4350 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $49.5450. The company had a trading volume of 1,977,179 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,584,034. The company has a market capitalization of $56.86 billion, a PE ratio of 47.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.95. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $44.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.02. Fastenal Company has a 1-year low of $32.04 and a 1-year high of $49.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.22 and a quick ratio of 2.12.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.01. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 32.33%. The company had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.25 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 29th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio is presently 84.62%.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, CFO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 21,052 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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. This represents a 67.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.05, for a total value of $2,341,188.20. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 11,880 shares of the company's stock, valued at $570,834. This trade represents a 80.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 111,230 shares of company stock valued at $5,288,364 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on FAST shares. Loop Capital restated a "hold" rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wolfe Research reiterated a "positive" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Fastenal from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $46.36.

Fastenal Profile

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.