Wellington Management Group LLP Reduces Stock Position in Fastenal Company $FAST

Key Points

• Wellington Management Group LLP reduced its stock position in Fastenal Company by 4.1%, now holding approximately 1.4 million shares valued at $109.9 million according to its recent SEC filing.
• Fastenal experienced strong earnings last quarter, reporting $0.29 EPS, which exceeded analysts' expectations by $0.01, with revenue up 8.6% from the previous year.
• Despite the earnings beat, analysts have mixed opinions, as the stock has an average rating of "Hold" with a slightly increased price target to $46.36.

Wellington Management Group LLP trimmed its holdings in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 4.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,417,780 shares of the company's stock after selling 60,453 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned approximately 0.25% of Fastenal worth $109,949,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of FAST. Horizon Financial Services LLC grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 5,330.0% in the first quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 543 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 481.9% during the 4th quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 611 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in Fastenal in the 1st quarter worth about $49,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Fastenal during the 1st quarter valued at about $57,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 5,661.5% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 749 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 736 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on FAST shares. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Fastenal from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $47.00 to $55.00 in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Wolfe Research reissued a "positive" rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 14th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $46.36.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of Fastenal stock opened at $49.14 on Friday. Fastenal Company has a 1 year low of $32.04 and a 1 year high of $50.06. The firm has a market cap of $56.39 billion, a PE ratio of 47.25, a PEG ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.22 and a quick ratio of 2.12. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.22.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.25 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 (DPR) is presently 84.62%.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other news, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 11,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $570,834. This represents a 80.40% decrease in their position. 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 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 111,230 shares of company stock worth $5,288,364. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.

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