TD Asset Management Inc Cuts Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

TD Asset Management Inc lessened its holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 5.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,062,064 shares of the company’s stock after selling 186,789 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc owned approximately 0.53% of Fastenal worth $192,420,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Fastenal by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,928,209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $513,510,000 after purchasing an additional 1,043,529 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $405,513,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Fastenal by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,800,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $310,931,000 after purchasing an additional 109,028 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Fastenal by 46.2% in the first quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 3,185,855 shares of the company’s stock valued at $245,757,000 after purchasing an additional 1,006,402 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Fastenal by 497.3% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 3,099,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $239,083,000 after purchasing an additional 2,580,478 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $56.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 target price (down previously from $85.00) on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $66.67.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of FAST stock opened at $65.18 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $66.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $68.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 2.29. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $53.83 and a 1 year high of $79.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.43, a PEG ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 1.01.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 12th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.51. The firm had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.91 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 33.54%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th were issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.39%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 77.61%.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $19,489,266.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu bought 500 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $63.28 per share, with a total value of $31,640.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,500 shares in the company, valued at $221,480. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total value of $3,116,996.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,489,266.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

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.