Fastenal Company $FAST Stake Reduced by Congress Asset Management Co.

Congress Asset Management Co. lessened its stake in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 2.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,024,675 shares of the company’s stock after selling 25,447 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. owned 0.09% of Fastenal worth $50,752,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of FAST. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Fastenal in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,105,454,000. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.6% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 56,438,968 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,710,764,000 after purchasing an additional 869,793 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the second quarter worth $859,310,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 12.0% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 16,292,425 shares of the company’s stock worth $755,969,000 after purchasing an additional 1,744,193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.2% in the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,561,007 shares of the company’s stock valued at $747,395,000 after purchasing an additional 183,238 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on FAST shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Barclays cut their price target on Fastenal from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Fastenal from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $46.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $51.00 target price on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Michael J. Ancius sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.00, for a total transaction of $147,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 58,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,875,810. This represents a 4.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rita Heise sold 34,964 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.05, for a total transaction of $1,749,948.20. Following the sale, the director owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,001,000. This trade represents a 63.61% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.2%

Fastenal stock traded up $0.12 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $50.81. The stock had a trading volume of 4,706,174 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,809,485. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $50.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.15. Fastenal Company has a 12 month low of $38.97 and a 12 month high of $52.92. The stock has a market cap of $58.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 4.18, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33. Fastenal had a return on equity of 34.03% and a net margin of 15.45%.The company had revenue of $2.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.29 EPS. Fastenal’s quarterly revenue was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Fastenal Company will post 1.26 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 28th. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is presently 88.14%.

Fastenal Profile

Fastenal Company is a distributor of industrial and construction supplies serving businesses, contractors, manufacturers and other organizations. Its product offerings include fasteners such as bolts, nuts and screws, as well as safety equipment, tools, cutting tools, material-handling products, electrical and plumbing supplies, and maintenance and repair items.

The company sells products through a network of branch locations, onsite customer facilities, industrial vending machines and digital platforms.