Achmea Investment Management B.V. Trims Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Achmea Investment Management B.V. decreased its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 0.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 332,199 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,758 shares during the period. Achmea Investment Management B.V. owned 0.06% of Fastenal worth $20,876,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of FAST. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Fastenal by 2,172.2% in the 1st quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 409 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 1st quarter valued at about $39,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 528.4% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total transaction of $3,116,996.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at $19,489,266.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FAST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $56.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 target price (down from $85.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.43.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.8 %

FAST opened at $69.21 on Thursday. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $53.83 and a 12 month high of $79.04. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $67.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.60. The company has a market cap of $39.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.43, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.01.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 12th. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.91 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.54% and a net margin of 15.54%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.25%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 77.61%.

Fastenal 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.