Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 50,000 Shares of Fastenal Company $FAST

Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 5.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 851,600 shares of the company’s stock after selling 50,000 shares during the quarter. Fastenal comprises approximately 1.5% of Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. owned 0.07% of Fastenal worth $42,180,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Evergreen Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 69.6% during the first quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 307 shares during the period. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the second quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Paladin Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the second quarter worth about $39,000. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Rita J. Heise sold 34,964 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director directly owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,001,000. This trade represents a 63.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on FAST. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $47.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Fastenal from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $51.00 price objective for the company. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.46.

Fastenal Trading Down 1.8%

NASDAQ FAST opened at $51.55 on Wednesday. Fastenal Company has a 12 month low of $38.97 and a 12 month high of $52.92. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $50.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.04.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 14th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.44 billion. Fastenal’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.29 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Fastenal Company will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 28th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 28th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%.

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.