Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) Holdings Cut by Sei Investments Co.

Key Points

• Sei Investments Co. reduced its stake in Fastenal by 18.2%, holding approximately 291,058 shares valued at $21.34 million after selling 64,688 shares during the first quarter.
• Fastenal's recent earnings report showed a quarterly revenue of $2.08 billion, exceeding analyst estimates, with earnings per share of $0.29, slightly above the consensus estimate of $0.28.
• The company's board has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, reflecting a payout ratio of 84.62% with a dividend yield of 1.8%.

Sei Investments Co. lowered its position in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 18.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 291,058 shares of the company's stock after selling 64,688 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co. owned about 0.05% of Fastenal worth $21,337,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at about $496,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 13,157 shares of the company's stock valued at $946,000 after buying an additional 946 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 88,159 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,342,000 after buying an additional 4,012 shares during the period. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at about $270,000. Finally, Cohen & Steers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 23.6% in the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 4,366 shares of the company's stock valued at $314,000 after buying an additional 833 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 21,052 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.21, for a total transaction of $951,760.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,192 shares in the company, valued at $460,780.32. The trade was a 67.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.05, for a total transaction of $2,341,188.20. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 11,880 shares of the company's stock, valued at $570,834. This represents a 80.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 104,388 shares of company stock worth $4,955,363. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of FAST traded up $0.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $48.88. 5,847,024 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,954,687. Fastenal Company has a fifty-two week low of $32.04 and a fifty-two week high of $49.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.00, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.95. The business's 50 day moving average is $44.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.91. The company has a current ratio of 4.22, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

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

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th will be given 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 is Tuesday, July 29th. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 84.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 price objective on Fastenal and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price target on Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Stephens lifted their price target on Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Fastenal from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.