Fastenal Company $FAST Shares Sold by Hudson Bay Capital Management LP

Hudson Bay Capital Management LP cut its holdings in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 42.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 91,973 shares of the company’s stock after selling 68,237 shares during the period. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $4,510,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Fastenal by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 151,515,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,430,322,000 after purchasing an additional 2,346,045 shares during the period. National Pension Service boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,558,579 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,433,000 after buying an additional 53,888 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,713,469 shares of the company’s stock valued at $181,626,000 after buying an additional 219,154 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,387,472 shares of the company’s stock worth $362,282,000 after buying an additional 90,095 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 7,923.2% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,268,795 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,222,000 after buying an additional 1,252,981 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, Director Scott Satterlee sold 15,964 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.19, for a total transaction of $705,449.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,209,500. This trade represents a 24.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 36,920 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.34, for a total value of $1,747,792.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 40,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,893,600. The trade was a 48.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $43.76 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $50.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.88. Fastenal Company has a twelve month low of $35.31 and a twelve month high of $50.63. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $45.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.97. The company has a current ratio of 4.85, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.35% and a return on equity of 32.83%. The business had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 29th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 29th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is 87.27%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAST has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Fastenal from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $46.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated a “positive” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Fastenal presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.83.

Fastenal Company Profile

Fastenal (NASDAQ: FAST) is a wholesale distributor of industrial and construction supplies, best known for its broad assortment of fasteners such as bolts, nuts, screws and anchors. Founded in Winona, Minnesota, Fastenal has grown from a regional supplier into a national and international distributor serving a wide range of end markets, including manufacturing, construction, maintenance, repair and operations (MRO), and government customers. The company is publicly traded and operates through a network of locally staffed branches combined with national distribution capabilities.

Product offerings extend beyond fasteners to include tools, safety and personal protective equipment, power transmission components, cutting and welding supplies, janitorial and material handling items, and other industrial consumables.