Tredje AP fonden Reduces Holdings in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST)

Key Points

• Tredje AP fonden has reduced its stake in Fastenal Company by 42.4%, selling 100,000 shares during the first quarter, leaving it with 135,710 shares valued at approximately $10.52 million.
• Insider trading activity includes Director Scott Satterlee selling 19,340 shares for around $768,862 and EVP John Lewis Soderberg selling 32,724 shares for about $1.35 million in recent transactions.
• Fastenal's quarterly earnings report showed an earnings per share of $0.29, exceeding estimates, with a revenue of $2.08 billion, reflecting an 8.6% increase from the previous year.

Tredje AP fonden decreased its holdings in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 42.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 135,710 shares of the company's stock after selling 100,000 shares during the period. Tredje AP fonden's holdings in Fastenal were worth $10,524,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,918,464 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,214,002,000 after buying an additional 234,713 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 0.9% during 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 increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,322,739 shares of the company's stock valued at $526,578,000 after purchasing an additional 966,629 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased 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 purchasing an additional 116,866 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Fastenal by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,628,282 shares of the company's stock worth $476,640,000 after buying an additional 33,718 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In related news, Director Scott Satterlee sold 19,340 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.76, for a total value of $768,861.70. Following the transaction, the director owned 50,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,987,750. This trade represents a 27.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 32,724 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.23, for a total transaction of $1,349,046.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 73,116 shares of company stock worth $3,069,670. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of Fastenal stock traded down $0.18 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $45.27. 1,607,048 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,673,328. Fastenal Company has a twelve month low of $32.04 and a twelve month high of $48.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.14 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.24. 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 quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 32.33%. The company's revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.25 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Investors 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 yield of 1.9%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 84.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Loop Capital reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 price target on Fastenal and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $45.64.

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.