Versor Investments LP Invests $535,000 in Fastenal Company $FAST

Key Points

• Versor Investments LP acquired a new stake in Fastenal Company, purchasing 6,905 shares valued at approximately $535,000 during the first quarter.
• Wall Street analysts have a consensus rating of "Hold" for Fastenal, with an average price target of $46.36, as multiple firms have issued varied ratings and price objectives.
• Fastenal recently reported a current dividend payout of $0.22 per share, reflecting a yield of 1.8%, and a payout ratio of 84.62%.

Versor Investments LP bought a new position in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 6,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $535,000.

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

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other news, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total value of $333,000.14. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 11,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $583,747.98. This represents a 36.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were 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 three months, insiders sold 111,230 shares of company stock valued at $5,288,364. 0.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Fastenal Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of Fastenal stock traded up $1.25 on Friday, reaching $50.39. 5,442,493 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,864,219. The company has a market capitalization of $57.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.45, a PEG ratio of 4.59 and a beta of 0.95. 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 Company has a one year low of $32.04 and a one year high of $50.60. The company has a 50-day moving average of $45.26 and a 200 day moving average of $41.35.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.25 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share 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 paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 29th. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio is 84.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on FAST. Loop Capital reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Fastenal from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Fastenal from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $55.00 in a report on Thursday, August 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $46.36.

Fastenal Company 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.