J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Grows Holdings in Fastenal Company $FAST

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG raised its position in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 244.9% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 44,634 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 31,692 shares during the period. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,875,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Riverview Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 100.0% during the second quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 584 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the period. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 100.0% during the 2nd quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 696 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 95.0% during the 2nd quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 702 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the period. Clean Yield Group lifted its position in Fastenal by 100.0% during the second quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 696 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 348 shares during the period. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. lifted its position in Fastenal by 4,900.0% during the second quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 750 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 735 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.05, for a total transaction of $2,341,188.20. Following the sale, the insider owned 11,880 shares in the company, valued at $570,834. This trade represents a 80.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 21,052 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.21, for a total transaction of $951,760.92. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 10,192 shares in the company, valued at $460,780.32. This represents a 67.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 111,230 shares of company stock valued at $5,288,364. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FAST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 14th. Northcoast Research began coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Baird R W raised shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Stephens increased their target price on Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.82.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of FAST stock opened at $47.88 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $48.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.56. Fastenal Company has a 52 week low of $34.69 and a 52 week high of $50.63. The company has a current ratio of 4.22, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a market cap of $54.95 billion, a PE ratio of 46.04, a P/E/G ratio of 4.37 and a beta of 0.94.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.01. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 32.33%. The business had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.25 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 29th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 29th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 84.62%.

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.