Curbstone Financial Management Corp Has $916,000 Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Curbstone Financial Management Corp lowered its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 1.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,532 shares of the company’s stock after selling 250 shares during the quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $916,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of FAST. Roundview Capital LLC boosted its stake in Fastenal by 0.6% in the first quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 85,339 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,069,000 after acquiring an additional 479 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 55.3% in the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 19,099 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,140,000 after purchasing an additional 6,797 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 18.1% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 239,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,218,000 after purchasing an additional 36,709 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 24.6% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 26,251 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,559,000 after purchasing an additional 5,190 shares during the period. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its holdings in Fastenal by 9.0% in the first quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 9,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $566,000 after purchasing an additional 786 shares during the last quarter. 78.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on FAST shares. Stephens lowered Fastenal from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $60.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, July 13th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $50.00 to $60.00 in a report on Friday, June 16th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Friday, July 14th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.67.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.2 %

FAST traded up $0.09 during trading on Thursday, hitting $54.79. The company had a trading volume of 415,946 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,162,418. The company has a market capitalization of $31.30 billion, a PE ratio of 27.77, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.16. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $57.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.26. Fastenal has a one year low of $43.73 and a one year high of $59.43. The company has a quick ratio of 2.13, a current ratio of 4.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 13th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.01). Fastenal had a return on equity of 34.63% and a net margin of 15.52%. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.50 earnings per share. Fastenal’s revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Fastenal will post 1.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 27th were given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 26th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 71.07%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fastenal news, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 19,564 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.78, for a total value of $1,110,843.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,135,600. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Michael J. Ancius purchased 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $57.53 per share, for a total transaction of $28,765.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 28,765 shares in the company, valued at $1,654,850.45. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 19,564 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.78, for a total value of $1,110,843.92. Following the transaction, the director now owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,135,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Fastenal

Fastenal Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the wholesale distribution of industrial and construction supplies in the United States, Canada, Mexico, 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, which are used in manufactured products and construction projects, as well as in the maintenance and repair of machines.