United Services Automobile Association Trims Stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

United Services Automobile Association reduced its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 6.7% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 17,067 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,228 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,072,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price objective (down from $85.00) on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 15th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $56.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Friday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.43.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Fastenal stock opened at $68.09 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a market capitalization of $38.99 billion, a PE ratio of 33.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.62. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $53.83 and a twelve month high of $79.04.

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

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.61%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,489,266.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

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.