Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Trims Holdings in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST)

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd lowered its stake in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 6.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 64,706 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,803 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $4,929,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 15.4% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 5,811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $451,000 after acquiring an additional 774 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in Fastenal by 11.5% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 174,847 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,559,000 after purchasing an additional 18,095 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in Fastenal by 26.4% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 42,767 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,317,000 after purchasing an additional 8,928 shares during the period. Advisor OS LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal in the 1st quarter valued at about $203,000. Finally, Pinnacle Associates Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 5,057 shares of the company’s stock valued at $392,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, Director Scott Satterlee sold 19,340 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 27.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 21,052 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.21, for a total transaction of $951,760.92. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $460,780.32. This trade represents a 67.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 73,116 shares of company stock valued at $3,069,670 over the last 90 days. 0.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on FAST. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Loop Capital restated a “hold” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 price target on Fastenal and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Wolfe Research reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.64.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of FAST stock opened at $47.75 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $42.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $39.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.80 billion, a PE ratio of 45.91, a P/E/G ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 4.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Fastenal Company has a 52 week low of $32.04 and a 52 week high of $48.10.

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

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The company 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 $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 29th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.84%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 84.62%.

Fastenal 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.