Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Has $93.71 Million Stock Holdings in Fastenal Company $FAST

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 3.6% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,910,842 shares of the company’s stock after selling 71,679 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $93,708,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Scott Satterlee sold 15,964 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.19, for a total transaction of $705,449.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 50,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,209,500. This trade represents a 24.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FAST has been the topic of several recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wolfe Research raised their target price on Fastenal from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $46.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $52.00 price target on Fastenal and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.27.

Fastenal Stock Performance

FAST stock opened at $46.04 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 4.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a market cap of $52.87 billion, a PE ratio of 41.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.88. The business has a 50 day moving average of $43.88 and a 200-day moving average of $44.33. Fastenal Company has a 12-month low of $35.31 and a 12-month high of $50.63.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.26. The business had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.04 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.83% and a net margin of 15.35%.The business’s revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 29th were issued a $0.24 dividend. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 29th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is presently 87.27%.

Fastenal Profile

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.