Banco BTG Pactual S.A. Takes Position in Fastenal Company $FAST

Banco BTG Pactual S.A. bought a new stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 5,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $422,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of FAST. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its stake in Fastenal by 0.3% during the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 49,219 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,817,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC increased its stake in Fastenal by 0.4% during the first quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 32,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,559,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 15,886 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,142,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Salvus Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $698,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Essex Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 8,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $688,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stephens boosted their target price on Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 price objective on Fastenal and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Robert W. Baird raised Fastenal from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $55.00 in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Baird R W raised Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Loop Capital reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.36.

Insider Activity

In other Fastenal news, CFO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 21,052 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 67.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total transaction of $333,000.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $583,747.98. The trade was a 36.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 111,230 shares of company stock valued at $5,288,364. 0.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Fastenal Trading Up 1.6%

Fastenal stock opened at $49.90 on Wednesday. Fastenal Company has a 52 week low of $32.04 and a 52 week high of $49.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a current ratio of 4.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.98, a PEG ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.95. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $44.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.08.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.07 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 32.33%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.25 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 29th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 84.62%.

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.