Harfst & Associates Inc. Reduces Position in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST)

Harfst & Associates Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 9.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,960 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,536 shares during the quarter. Fastenal makes up approximately 0.6% of Harfst & Associates Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Harfst & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $2,634,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Horizon Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 5,330.0% in the first quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 543 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 481.9% in the fourth quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 611 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the first quarter worth about $49,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the first quarter worth about $57,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 5,661.5% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 749 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 736 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on FAST shares. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 price target on shares of Fastenal and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Fastenal from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $47.00 to $55.00 in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Loop Capital reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Stephens increased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.05, for a total transaction of $2,341,188.20. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 11,880 shares in the company, valued at $570,834. This trade represents a 80.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.03, for a total transaction of $1,662,414.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 137,112 shares of company stock worth $6,304,410 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $49.21 on Thursday. Fastenal Company has a one year low of $32.04 and a one year high of $49.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.22 and a quick ratio of 2.12. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $44.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.32, a PEG ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.95.

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

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 29th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 84.62%.

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.