Maven Securities LTD Invests $1.54 Million in Fastenal Company $FAST

Maven Securities LTD acquired a new position in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 19,822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,537,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FAST. Horizon Financial Services LLC increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 5,330.0% in the first quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 543 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 481.9% in the fourth quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 611 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in shares of Fastenal in the first quarter worth approximately $49,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal in the first quarter worth approximately $57,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 5,661.5% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 749 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 736 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total value of $333,000.14. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $583,747.98. This trade represents a 36.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.03, for a total value of $1,662,414.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 111,230 shares of company stock worth $5,288,364 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on FAST. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Fastenal from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $47.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Loop Capital reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.36.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of Fastenal stock opened at $49.11 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a current ratio of 4.22. Fastenal Company has a 52-week low of $32.04 and a 52-week high of $49.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.22, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.95. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $44.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.02.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.01. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 32.33%. The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.25 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 29th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 84.62%.

Fastenal Company 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.