Railway Pension Investments Ltd Trims Stake in Fastenal Company $FAST

Railway Pension Investments Ltd cut its position in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 1.8% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,656,050 shares of the company’s stock after selling 30,700 shares during the period. Railway Pension Investments Ltd’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $79,540,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its position in Fastenal by 2.4% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 6,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $487,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.8% in the first quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 12,356 shares of the company’s stock valued at $573,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares during the period. Sittner & Nelson LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 68,495 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,749,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 12.9% during the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pure Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 3.4% during the second quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,161 shares of the company’s stock worth $344,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, Director Michael J. Ancius sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.00, for a total transaction of $147,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 58,690 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,875,810. The trade was a 4.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Rita J. Heise sold 34,964 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.05, for a total value of $1,749,948.20. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,001,000. This trade represents a 63.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.9%

FAST stock opened at $49.31 on Tuesday. Fastenal Company has a one year low of $38.97 and a one year high of $52.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.58 billion, a PE ratio of 41.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a current ratio of 4.18. The company has a fifty day moving average of $48.52 and a 200-day moving average of $46.52.

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

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th were issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 28th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 88.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on FAST. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $46.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Fastenal from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fastenal presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.17.

About Fastenal

Fastenal (NASDAQ: FAST) is a wholesale distributor of industrial and construction supplies, best known for its broad assortment of fasteners such as bolts, nuts, screws and anchors. Founded in Winona, Minnesota, Fastenal has grown from a regional supplier into a national and international distributor serving a wide range of end markets, including manufacturing, construction, maintenance, repair and operations (MRO), and government customers. The company is publicly traded and operates through a network of locally staffed branches combined with national distribution capabilities.

Product offerings extend beyond fasteners to include tools, safety and personal protective equipment, power transmission components, cutting and welding supplies, janitorial and material handling items, and other industrial consumables.