Captrust Financial Advisors Sells 27,698 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Captrust Financial Advisors cut its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 9.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 253,904 shares of the company’s stock after selling 27,698 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors’ holdings in Fastenal were worth $19,586,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 178.1% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 78,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,054,000 after buying an additional 49,972 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 5,493 shares of the company’s stock worth $350,000 after buying an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 113,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,354,000 after buying an additional 2,335 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 8,771 shares of the company’s stock worth $568,000 after buying an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd now owns 5,545 shares of the company’s stock worth $359,000 after buying an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on FAST shares. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price target (down from $85.00) on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 15th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Fastenal from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $56.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 15th. HSBC upped their target price on Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their target price on Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fastenal currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $66.67.

Fastenal Trading Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ FAST opened at $70.89 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.27, a PEG ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $69.02. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $53.83 and a 12 month high of $79.04. 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 (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 12th. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.54% and a net margin of 15.54%. Fastenal’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.06 EPS for the current fiscal 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 $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 26th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 77.61%.

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.