Voya Investment Management LLC Cuts Position in Fastenal Company $FAST

Key Points

• Voya Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Fastenal Company by 2.7%, selling 8,779 shares during the first quarter, resulting in ownership of 310,839 shares valued at approximately $24.1 million.
• Fastenal reported earnings per share of $0.29 for the last quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate by $0.01, with revenue increasing by 8.6% year-over-year to $2.08 billion.
• A number of institutional investors have increased their holdings in Fastenal, with Charles Schwab Investment Management raising its stake by 8.9%, bringing its total ownership to over 22.6 million shares worth approximately $1.75 billion.

Voya Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 2.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 310,839 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,779 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC's holdings in Fastenal were worth $24,106,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of FAST. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $496,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Fastenal by 140.4% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 15,104 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,085,000 after purchasing an additional 8,821 shares during the period. Man Group plc grew its stake in Fastenal by 85.7% in the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 177,100 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,735,000 after purchasing an additional 81,739 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 90.2% during the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 390,662 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,092,000 after buying an additional 185,304 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tema Etfs LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at $5,986,000. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FAST traded up $0.36 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $47.58. 13,747,553 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,443,559. The firm has a market cap of $54.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.29 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 4.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $47.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.89. Fastenal Company has a one year low of $34.69 and a one year high of $50.63.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.33% and a net margin of 15.30%.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 company posted $0.25 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 29th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio is currently 84.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research reissued a "positive" rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price objective on Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Stephens increased their price objective on Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Fastenal has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $46.82.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fastenal news, CFO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 21,052 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 10,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $460,780.32. This trade represents a 67.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total value of $333,000.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,994 shares in the company, valued at $583,747.98. This trade represents a 36.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 111,230 shares of company stock worth $5,288,364. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

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.