Y.D. More Investments Ltd Acquires 39,834 Shares of Fastenal Company $FAST

Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 12,975.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,141 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 39,834 shares during the quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,611,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 1.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 151,515,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,430,322,000 after acquiring an additional 2,346,045 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 99.6% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,317,385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,281,330,000 after acquiring an additional 27,107,520 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,215,875 shares of the company’s stock worth $893,307,000 after purchasing an additional 2,242,116 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 15,604,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $765,268,000 after purchasing an additional 173,581 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Fastenal by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,276,145 shares of the company’s stock worth $405,860,000 after purchasing an additional 26,702 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 company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were 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 represents a 24.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 36,920 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.34, for a total transaction of $1,747,792.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 40,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,893,600. The trade was a 48.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FAST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Fastenal from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Fastenal from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research increased their target price on Fastenal from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.08.

Fastenal Price Performance

NASDAQ FAST opened at $46.30 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.09, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.84. Fastenal Company has a 1-year low of $35.31 and a 1-year high of $50.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.85 and a quick ratio of 2.41. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $45.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.77.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.26. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.83% and a net margin of 15.35%.The company had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.46 earnings per share. Fastenal’s revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 29th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 29th. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 87.27%.

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.