Fastenal Company $FAST Shares Sold by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company has reduced its holdings in Fastenal by 1.3%, selling 5,085 shares to hold a total of 388,057 shares worth $30 million.
• Institutional investors own 81.38% of Fastenal's stock, with notable changes including Charles Schwab increasing its stake by 8.9% and GAMMA Investing lifting its holdings by over 8,541%.
• Fastenal reported earnings of $0.29 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, and has seen its revenue grow by 8.6% year-over-year.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company trimmed its holdings in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 1.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 388,057 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,085 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.07% of Fastenal worth $30,091,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Fastenal by 8.9% during 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. Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 181,482 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,074,000 after acquiring an additional 12,721 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 195,748 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,180,000 after acquiring an additional 7,400 shares during the period. Raiffeisen Bank International AG lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 21.5% during the 1st quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 35,606 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,712,000 after acquiring an additional 6,303 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in Fastenal by 23.9% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,459,124 shares of the company's stock worth $190,705,000 after buying an additional 473,987 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fastenal news, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of the 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 sale, the insider owned 11,880 shares in the company, valued at $570,834. This trade represents a 80.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.03, for a total value of $1,662,414.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 111,230 shares of company stock worth $5,288,364. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on FAST shares. Loop Capital reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Fastenal from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $47.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Wolfe Research reissued a "positive" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, July 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $46.82.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of FAST stock traded down $2.28 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $47.99. The company had a trading volume of 9,382,497 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,962,679. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $46.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.21. The firm has a market cap of $55.08 billion, a PE ratio of 46.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.37 and a beta of 0.97. Fastenal Company has a one year low of $32.53 and a one year high of $50.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a current ratio of 4.22.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. 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 prior year, the company posted $0.25 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share 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 yield of 1.8%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.