Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Grows Position in Fastenal Company $FAST

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 16.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 96,120 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,461 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $3,857,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew 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 valued at $7,430,322,000 after purchasing an additional 2,346,045 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Fastenal by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 37,699,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,508,216,000 after purchasing an additional 685,047 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Fastenal by 14.0% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,215,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $893,307,000 after purchasing an additional 2,242,116 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Fastenal by 1.1% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 15,604,974 shares of the company’s stock valued at $765,268,000 after purchasing an additional 173,581 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in Fastenal by 0.3% in the third quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,276,145 shares of the company’s stock valued at $405,860,000 after purchasing an additional 26,702 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on FAST. Barclays set a $46.00 target price on shares of Fastenal and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $48.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Raymond James Financial set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.85.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of FAST stock opened at $47.19 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $54.17 billion, a PE ratio of 41.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.73. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.98. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Fastenal Company has a twelve month low of $38.97 and a twelve month high of $50.63.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 13th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.30. The business had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.39% and a return on equity of 33.25%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 28th were paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 28th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is 84.21%.

About Fastenal

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.