Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Sold by Ballast Advisors LLC

Ballast Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 19.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,399 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,048 shares during the period. Ballast Advisors LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $651,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FAST. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $496,000. LPL Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 357,489 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,707,000 after purchasing an additional 10,959 shares during the last quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth approximately $308,000. Modern Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth approximately $200,000. Finally, Korea Investment CORP raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 67.4% during the 4th quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 364,474 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,209,000 after purchasing an additional 146,760 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on FAST shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Stephens lifted their target price 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. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Loop Capital reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.64.

Fastenal Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $47.75 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 4.22, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.91, a PEG ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.96. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.88. Fastenal Company has a twelve month low of $32.04 and a twelve month high of $48.10.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 32.33%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.25 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 29th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.84%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 84.62%.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, CFO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 21,052 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 10,192 shares in the company, valued at $460,780.32. The trade was a 67.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Scott Satterlee sold 19,340 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.76, for a total transaction of $768,861.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 50,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,987,750. This represents a 27.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 73,116 shares of company stock worth $3,069,670. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.