Bellwether Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in Fastenal Company $FAST

Bellwether Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 78.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,838 shares of the company’s stock after selling 42,552 shares during the quarter. Bellwether Advisors LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $475,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of FAST. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Fastenal by 106.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 15,431,393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $648,118,000 after purchasing an additional 7,943,217 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Fastenal by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 151,515,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,430,322,000 after purchasing an additional 2,346,045 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Fastenal by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,215,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $893,307,000 after purchasing an additional 2,242,116 shares during the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its position in Fastenal by 1,039.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 2,337,722 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,253,000 after purchasing an additional 2,132,593 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Fastenal by 90.7% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,590,292 shares of the company’s stock valued at $176,068,000 after purchasing an additional 1,707,396 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other news, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 36,920 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.34, for a total value of $1,747,792.80. Following the transaction, the director owned 40,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,893,600. This represents a 48.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Fastenal Price Performance

FAST opened at $44.45 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $45.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.77. Fastenal Company has a 52-week low of $38.97 and a 52-week high of $50.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a current ratio of 4.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.75.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 13th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.30. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.39% and a return on equity of 33.25%. The firm had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.52 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Fastenal Company will post 1.23 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 28th were paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 28th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is 84.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FAST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “underperform” rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $48.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.77.

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.