Steginsky Capital LLC Trims Stake in Fastenal Company $FAST

Steginsky Capital LLC decreased its position in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,649,829 shares of the company’s stock after selling 69,388 shares during the quarter. Fastenal comprises approximately 13.4% of Steginsky Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Steginsky Capital LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $81,716,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Fastenal during the 2nd quarter worth about $5,105,454,000. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 56,438,968 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,710,764,000 after buying an additional 869,793 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 2nd quarter valued at $859,310,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 12.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 16,292,425 shares of the company’s stock valued at $755,969,000 after acquiring an additional 1,744,193 shares during the period. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 183,238 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST traded down $0.37 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $50.44. 1,945,984 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,778,323. The company has a market cap of $57.88 billion, a PE ratio of 42.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.69. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $50.05 and a 200 day moving average of $47.19. Fastenal Company has a 52-week low of $38.97 and a 52-week high of $52.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 4.18 and a quick ratio of 2.21.

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

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th were given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 28th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 88.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on FAST. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 target price on Fastenal in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $51.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Fastenal from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, September 11th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Fastenal from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Fastenal from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.50.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In related news, Director Rita J. Heise sold 34,964 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,001,000. This represents a 63.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael Ancius sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s 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 approximately $2,875,810. The trade was a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Fastenal

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.