MetLife Investment Management LLC Has $13.18 Million Position in Fastenal Company $FAST

MetLife Investment Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 1.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 169,917 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,971 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $13,177,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Horizon Financial Services LLC raised its stake in Fastenal by 5,330.0% during the 1st quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 543 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. raised its stake in Fastenal by 481.9% during the 4th quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in Fastenal during the 1st quarter valued at $49,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal during the 1st quarter valued at $57,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Fastenal by 5,661.5% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 736 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST opened at $50.27 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.69 billion, a PE ratio of 48.34, a P/E/G ratio of 4.59 and a beta of 0.95. Fastenal Company has a 1 year low of $32.04 and a 1 year high of $50.63. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $45.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.47. The company has a current ratio of 4.22, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.07 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 32.33%. Fastenal’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.25 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The firm 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. 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 is currently 84.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In related news, CFO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 21,052 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.21, for a total value of $951,760.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $460,780.32. This represents a 67.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $583,747.98. This represents a 36.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 111,230 shares of company stock valued at $5,288,364. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on FAST shares. 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. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Baird R W raised shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Stephens upped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.36.

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.