Dudley & Shanley Inc. Reduces Holdings in Fastenal Company $FAST

Dudley & Shanley Inc. cut its position in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 3.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 454,940 shares of the company’s stock after selling 17,500 shares during the quarter. Fastenal makes up approximately 3.6% of Dudley & Shanley Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Dudley & Shanley Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $22,533,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,105,454,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec acquired a new position in Fastenal during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $39,417,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.2% in the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,561,007 shares of the company’s stock worth $747,395,000 after buying an additional 183,238 shares during the last quarter. Nykredit A S acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the second quarter worth $11,419,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the second quarter valued at $410,919,000. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $55.00 target price on Fastenal and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Fastenal from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Barclays cut their price objective on Fastenal from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 16th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $46.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Friday, September 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fastenal currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Rita J. Heise sold 34,964 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.05, for a total transaction of $1,749,948.20. Following the sale, the director owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,001,000. This trade represents a 63.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael Ancius sold 3,000 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.00, for a total transaction of $147,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 58,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,875,810. The trade was a 4.86% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of FAST stock traded up $0.47 on Tuesday, hitting $51.16. The company had a trading volume of 1,377,157 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,791,327. Fastenal Company has a twelve month low of $38.97 and a twelve month high of $52.92. The company has a quick ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 4.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a market cap of $58.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $50.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.15.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.33. Fastenal had a return on equity of 34.03% and a net margin of 15.45%.The firm had revenue of $2.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.29 earnings per share. Fastenal’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Fastenal Company will post 1.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 28th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 28th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 88.14%.

Fastenal Company Profile

Fastenal Company is a distributor of industrial and construction supplies serving businesses, contractors, manufacturers and other organizations. Its product offerings include fasteners such as bolts, nuts and screws, as well as safety equipment, tools, cutting tools, material-handling products, electrical and plumbing supplies, and maintenance and repair items.

The company sells products through a network of branch locations, onsite customer facilities, industrial vending machines and digital platforms.