Candriam S.C.A. Cuts Stake in Fastenal Company $FAST

Candriam S.C.A. cut its stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 2.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 48,436 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,300 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $3,756,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Fastenal by 1.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 73,317,271 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,685,754,000 after purchasing an additional 1,016,479 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 1,850,871 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Fastenal by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,275,793 shares of the company’s stock valued at $595,112,000 after purchasing an additional 74,903 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Fastenal by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,322,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $526,578,000 after purchasing an additional 966,629 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Fastenal by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,018,546 shares of the company’s stock valued at $504,703,000 after purchasing an additional 116,866 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fastenal Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $50.39 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $57.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.45, a PEG ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.95. Fastenal Company has a 1 year low of $32.04 and a 1 year high of $50.60. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $45.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.32.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%.Fastenal’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.25 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 29th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 84.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on FAST. Stephens raised their price objective on Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Thursday. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Fastenal from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 target price on Fastenal and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.36.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In related news, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of the business’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 sale, the insider directly owned 11,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $570,834. The trade was a 80.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total value of $333,000.14. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 111,230 shares of company stock valued at $5,288,364 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

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.