Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Raises Stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 15.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 135,457 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 17,987 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $8,774,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Hartford Financial Management Inc. grew its holdings in Fastenal by 46.9% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Empirical Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Fastenal by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC now owns 7,212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $467,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the period. Berkshire Bank grew its holdings in Fastenal by 3.1% in the third quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 5,777 shares of the company’s stock valued at $316,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Fastenal by 1.1% in the third quarter. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,960 shares of the company’s stock valued at $873,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Finally, Koshinski Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Fastenal by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,075 shares of the company’s stock valued at $329,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fastenal Trading Down 1.4 %

NASDAQ FAST opened at $67.50 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $73.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.21. Fastenal has a 52 week low of $52.28 and a 52 week high of $79.04. The company has a current ratio of 4.83, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a market cap of $38.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.42, a PEG ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 1.05.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.01). Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.98% and a net margin of 15.68%. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 25th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 24th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.23%.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In related news, insider William Joseph Drazkowski sold 11,968 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.10, for a total value of $826,988.80. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,997 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $414,392.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Fastenal news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,590 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.25, for a total transaction of $1,633,607.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider William Joseph Drazkowski sold 11,968 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.10, for a total transaction of $826,988.80. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,997 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $414,392.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 71,640 shares of company stock valued at $5,044,657 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on FAST shares. Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Fastenal from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, HSBC lifted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.67.

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.