Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Sold by Federated Hermes Inc.

Federated Hermes Inc. lowered its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 75.2% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,861 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,675 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $180,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 33.5% in the second quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,069 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 22.6% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 12,658 shares of the company’s stock valued at $795,000 after acquiring an additional 2,330 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 21.4% in the 2nd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 651,282 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,927,000 after acquiring an additional 114,970 shares during the last quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $711,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BOKF NA lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 131.3% in the 2nd quarter. BOKF NA now owns 6,259 shares of the company’s stock valued at $393,000 after acquiring an additional 3,553 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.68, for a total value of $3,484,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at $19,929,734.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total value of $3,116,996.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at $19,489,266.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.68, for a total value of $3,484,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,929,734.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Fastenal Price Performance

NASDAQ FAST opened at $71.81 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $68.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 2.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 1.01. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $53.94 and a 52-week high of $79.04.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 12th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 33.54%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $56.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 15th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 price target (down from $85.00) on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.43.

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.