NewEdge Advisors LLC Has $6 Million Stock Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

NewEdge Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 7.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 95,526 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,089 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $6,003,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in Fastenal in the 4th quarter worth about $747,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 98.6% in the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 118,301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,126,000 after buying an additional 58,726 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,078,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Fastenal by 205.4% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 27,181 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,097,000 after buying an additional 18,281 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in Fastenal by 499.7% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 132,046 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,186,000 after acquiring an additional 110,027 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price target (down previously from $85.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $56.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.43.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of Fastenal stock opened at $71.09 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $68.45 and its 200 day moving average is $68.22. Fastenal has a one year low of $53.94 and a one year high of $79.04. The firm has a market cap of $40.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.37, a PEG ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 2.29.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 12th. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.51. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 33.54%. The company had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.61%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total transaction of $3,116,996.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,489,266.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Fastenal news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.68, for a total transaction of $3,484,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at $19,929,734.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total transaction of $3,116,996.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,489,266.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.