Fastenal Company $FAST Shares Bought by Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.

Key Points

• Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. increased its stake in Fastenal Company by 102.9% during the first quarter, owning 80,664 shares worth approximately $6.26 million.
• Fastenal reported $0.29 earnings per share for the last quarter, beating estimates, with revenue up 8.6% from the previous year.
• The company set a quarterly dividend of $0.22, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 1.8% after a payout ratio of 84.62%.

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 102.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 80,664 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 40,912 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.'s holdings in Fastenal were worth $6,255,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in FAST. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,850,871 shares during the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its position in Fastenal by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 181,482 shares of the company's stock worth $14,074,000 after buying an additional 12,721 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS lifted its position in Fastenal by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 195,748 shares of the company's stock worth $15,180,000 after buying an additional 7,400 shares during the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG lifted its position in Fastenal by 21.5% in the 1st quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 35,606 shares of the company's stock worth $2,712,000 after buying an additional 6,303 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in Fastenal by 9.6% in the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 391,932 shares of the company's stock worth $30,394,000 after buying an additional 34,443 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In related news, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total transaction of $333,000.14. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,994 shares in the company, valued at $583,747.98. This trade represents a 36.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated 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. Insiders have sold a total of 111,230 shares of company stock valued at $5,288,364 over the last quarter. 0.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Fastenal Stock Up 1.3%

FAST traded up $0.6150 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $49.7250. The stock had a trading volume of 3,026,667 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,595,410. The company has a current ratio of 4.22, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock's 50 day moving average is $44.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.02. The company has a market capitalization of $57.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.86, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.95. Fastenal Company has a one year low of $32.04 and a one year high of $49.76.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.25 EPS. Fastenal's revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 29th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio is presently 84.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on FAST. Loop Capital restated a "hold" rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 price target on shares of Fastenal and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Fastenal from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $47.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Baird R W raised shares of Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. 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 issued a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $46.36.

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.