Parthenon LLC Sells 10,125 Shares of Fastenal Company $FAST

Parthenon LLC reduced its position in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 517,147 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,125 shares during the period. Fastenal comprises about 2.7% of Parthenon LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Parthenon LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $25,614,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of FAST. NBT Bank N.A. bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the third quarter worth about $794,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $135,000. Vest Financial LLC lifted its stake in Fastenal by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 1,081,024 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,543,000 after acquiring an additional 18,475 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Fastenal by 86.5% during the 3rd quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,511 shares of the company’s stock worth $620,000 after acquiring an additional 5,804 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sawyer & Company Inc acquired a new position in Fastenal during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $777,000. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAST has been the subject of several research reports. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $51.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Fastenal from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 15th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Finally, Argus lifted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.46.

Fastenal Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ FAST traded down $0.82 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $51.91. The company had a trading volume of 5,663,633 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,632,511. Fastenal Company has a 1-year low of $38.97 and a 1-year high of $52.92. The company has a quick ratio of 2.11, a current ratio of 3.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $50.36 and its 200-day moving average is $47.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.69.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 14th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.01. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.62% and a return on equity of 35.13%. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.29 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Investors 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 presently 83.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In related news, Director Rita J. Heise sold 34,964 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.05, for a total value of $1,749,948.20. Following the transaction, the director owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,001,000. This represents a 63.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael Ancius sold 3,000 shares of Fastenal 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 sale, the director directly owned 58,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,875,810. This represents a 4.86% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Fastenal

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.