Fastenal Company $FAST Stock: Parthenon LLC Lowers Holdings

Parthenon LLC lowered its stake in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 1.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 517,147 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,125 shares during the quarter. Fastenal comprises approximately 2.7% of Parthenon LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Parthenon LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $25,614,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Evergreen Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Fastenal by 69.6% during the first quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 748 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 307 shares in the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal during the second quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Paladin Partners LLC bought a new position in Fastenal during the second quarter valued at about $39,000. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Fastenal Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of FAST stock traded down $0.82 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $51.91. The company had a trading volume of 5,663,633 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,632,511. Fastenal Company has a 1-year low of $38.97 and a 1-year high of $52.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 3.93 and a quick ratio of 2.11. The firm has a market cap of $59.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.86, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a 50 day moving average of $50.36 and a 200 day moving average of $47.73.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 14th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.01. Fastenal had a return on equity of 35.13% and a net margin of 15.62%. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.29 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 28th will be given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 28th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $55.00 price objective on Fastenal and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Fastenal in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $51.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Fastenal from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “underperform” rating and set a $47.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Fastenal has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.46.

Fastenal Company Profile

Fastenal Company is a distributor of industrial and construction supplies headquartered in Winona, Minnesota. Founded in 1967, the company primarily serves businesses that require products for manufacturing, construction, maintenance, repair and operations.

Its product range includes threaded fasteners, bolts, nuts, screws, industrial and safety supplies, tools, electrical and plumbing products, material-handling equipment, and other related items. Fastenal also provides inventory-management solutions, including automated vending machines, customer-specific inventory programs and onsite services designed to improve product availability and purchasing efficiency.

Fastenal serves customers through a network of locations and sales channels across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe and parts of Asia.