Fastenal Company $FAST Stock Sold by Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. decreased its position in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 8.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 114,701 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,312 shares during the quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $5,681,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of FAST. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Fastenal in the second quarter worth $5,105,454,000. State Street Corp increased its position 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 worth $2,710,764,000 after purchasing an additional 869,793 shares in the last quarter. 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 holdings in shares of Fastenal by 12.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 16,292,425 shares of the company’s stock valued at $755,969,000 after purchasing an additional 1,744,193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.2% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fastenal Stock Down 1.6%

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $51.91 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $59.56 billion, a PE ratio of 41.86, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.69. Fastenal Company has a twelve month low of $38.97 and a twelve month high of $52.92. The company has a current ratio of 3.93, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company’s 50 day moving average is $50.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.73.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 14th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.44 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.62% and a return on equity of 35.13%. Fastenal’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.29 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 28th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 83.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on FAST. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $47.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Fastenal from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Fastenal from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Barclays decreased their price target on Fastenal from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Argus raised their price target on Fastenal from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.46.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Rita Heise sold 34,964 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.05, for a total value of $1,749,948.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,001,000. This trade represents a 63.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Michael J. Ancius sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.00, for a total value of $147,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 58,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,875,810. This trade represents a 4.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Fastenal Company Profile

Fastenal Company is a distributor of industrial and construction supplies headquartered in Winona, Minnesota. Founded in 1967, the company primarily serves businesses that require products for manufacturing, construction, maintenance, repair and operations.

Its product range includes threaded fasteners, bolts, nuts, screws, industrial and safety supplies, tools, electrical and plumbing products, material-handling equipment, and other related items. Fastenal also provides inventory-management solutions, including automated vending machines, customer-specific inventory programs and onsite services designed to improve product availability and purchasing efficiency.

Fastenal serves customers through a network of locations and sales channels across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe and parts of Asia.