Baillie Gifford & Co. Sells 343,782 Shares of Fastenal Company $FAST

Baillie Gifford & Co. decreased its holdings in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,431,299 shares of the company’s stock after selling 343,782 shares during the quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $119,231,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in FAST. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its stake in Fastenal by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 6,276 shares of the company’s stock valued at $487,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 4.7% during the third quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 5,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,000 after buying an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Rowlandmiller & PARTNERS.ADV lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Rowlandmiller & PARTNERS.ADV now owns 14,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $721,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 71.6% in the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harfst & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Harfst & Associates Inc. now owns 63,720 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,125,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on FAST. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $52.00 price objective on Fastenal and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $53.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut their target price on shares of Fastenal from $43.00 to $42.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.00.

Fastenal Price Performance

Fastenal stock opened at $43.89 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $41.47 and its 200 day moving average is $44.45. Fastenal Company has a one year low of $35.31 and a one year high of $50.63. The firm has a market cap of $50.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.85 and a quick ratio of 2.19.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26. The business had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.04 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.35% and a return on equity of 32.83%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.46 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 29th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 80.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other news, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $49.58 per share, for a total transaction of $49,580.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $495,800. This represents a 11.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Sarah N. Nielsen purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $39.60 per share, for a total transaction of $39,600.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 5,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $198,000. The trade was a 25.00% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Fastenal

Fastenal (NASDAQ: FAST) is a wholesale distributor of industrial and construction supplies, best known for its broad assortment of fasteners such as bolts, nuts, screws and anchors. Founded in Winona, Minnesota, Fastenal has grown from a regional supplier into a national and international distributor serving a wide range of end markets, including manufacturing, construction, maintenance, repair and operations (MRO), and government customers. The company is publicly traded and operates through a network of locally staffed branches combined with national distribution capabilities.

Product offerings extend beyond fasteners to include tools, safety and personal protective equipment, power transmission components, cutting and welding supplies, janitorial and material handling items, and other industrial consumables.