Janus Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 96.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 23,863 shares of the company’s stock after selling 647,172 shares during the period. Janus Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,229,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Bfsg LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal during the first quarter worth about $1,748,000. Waddell & Reed Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 2.6% in the first quarter. Waddell & Reed Financial Inc. now owns 4,126,373 shares of the company’s stock worth $212,509,000 after buying an additional 104,132 shares during the last quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.3% in the first quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC now owns 20,666 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,069,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Grandeur Peak Global Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 2.3% in the first quarter. Grandeur Peak Global Advisors LLC now owns 106,325 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,476,000 after buying an additional 2,425 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OLD Mutual Customised Solutions Proprietary Ltd. increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 19.5% in the first quarter. OLD Mutual Customised Solutions Proprietary Ltd. now owns 8,961 shares of the company’s stock worth $461,000 after buying an additional 1,461 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.68% of the company’s stock.
Fastenal Company (FAST) traded down 0.97% during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $42.76. 1,504,561 shares of the stock traded hands. The company has a 50 day moving average of $43.15 and a 200-day moving average of $46.42. Fastenal Company has a 12-month low of $37.70 and a 12-month high of $52.74. The stock has a market cap of $12.31 billion, a PE ratio of 23.53 and a beta of 0.98.
Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 12th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.11 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 12.71% and a return on equity of 26.86%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.46 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Fastenal Company will post $1.92 earnings per share for the current year.
Fastenal declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, July 11th that permits the company to repurchase 5,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 26th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 24th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.33%.
A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on FAST shares. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $46.00 price objective (down previously from $50.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, June 12th. Longbow Research raised shares of Fastenal from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 2nd. Credit Suisse Group AG reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $52.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, July 13th. Zacks Investment Research downgraded shares of Fastenal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 31st. Finally, BidaskClub downgraded shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, June 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. The company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.14.
In other news, Director Daniel L. Johnson acquired 600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 24th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $42.71 per share, for a total transaction of $25,626.00. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider William Joseph Drazkowski acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 21st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $42.36 per share, for a total transaction of $42,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,960 shares in the company, valued at $83,025.60. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have bought 3,600 shares of company stock worth $154,256. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.
Fastenal Company Profile
Fastenal Company is engaged in wholesale distribution of industrial and construction supplies. The Company is engaged in fastener distribution, and non-fastener maintenance and supply business. As of December 31, 2016, it distributed these supplies through a network of approximately 2,500 stores. Its customers are in the manufacturing and non-residential construction markets.
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