408,124 Fastenal Company $FAST Shares Sold by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its holdings in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 20.4% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,597,060 shares of the company’s stock after selling 408,124 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $79,225,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in FAST. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the second quarter worth $5,105,454,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Fastenal by 1.6% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 56,438,968 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,710,764,000 after acquiring an additional 869,793 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Fastenal during the 2nd quarter valued at $859,310,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Fastenal by 12.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 16,292,425 shares of the company’s stock valued at $755,969,000 after acquiring an additional 1,744,193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Fastenal by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,561,007 shares of the company’s stock valued at $747,395,000 after acquiring an additional 183,238 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of FAST stock traded down $0.36 on Friday, hitting $55.19. 4,428,598 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,322,412. The company’s fifty day moving average is $51.26 and its 200 day moving average is $47.71. Fastenal Company has a 1-year low of $38.97 and a 1-year high of $56.27. The company has a market capitalization of $63.32 billion, a PE ratio of 44.51, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 3.93 and a quick ratio of 2.11.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 14th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.01. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.62% and a return on equity of 35.13%. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.29 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Fastenal Company will post 1.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Stockholders 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 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 28th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on FAST shares. DA Davidson set a $51.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $51.00 target price on the stock. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Fastenal from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.46.

Fastenal Profile

Fastenal Company is a distributor of industrial and construction supplies, serving businesses that need products to maintain facilities, support production and complete building projects. Its offerings include fasteners such as screws, nuts and bolts, as well as safety supplies, tools and other maintenance, repair and operations products. In addition to product distribution, Fastenal provides services designed to help customers manage supplies and purchasing. These include inventory management, on-site support and industrial vending solutions that make frequently used items available at customer facilities.