Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. lessened its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 16.2% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 34,919 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,733 shares during the quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $2,694,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FAST. Essex Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Fastenal by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 8,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $553,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 13,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,030,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 19,095 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,237,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 46.9% during the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Team Hewins LLC lifted its stake in Fastenal by 4.8% in the first quarter. Team Hewins LLC now owns 3,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu acquired 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $63.28 per share, with a total value of $31,640.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $221,480. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu purchased 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $63.28 per share, for a total transaction of $31,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $221,480. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP James C. Jansen sold 11,428 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total value of $732,191.96. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,176 shares in the company, valued at $1,677,096.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of FAST stock traded down $0.38 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $67.90. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,634,518 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,725,799. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Fastenal has a one year low of $53.83 and a one year high of $79.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.77, a P/E/G ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $65.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.74.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 12th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.51. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 33.54%. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.06 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 25th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on FAST. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Fastenal from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Loop Capital reduced their price target on Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective (down previously from $85.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, HSBC lifted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $66.67.

Fastenal Profile

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.