Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Has $637,000 Stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 10.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,837 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 922 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $637,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FAST. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at $268,570,000. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Fastenal by 37.8% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,092,207 shares of the company’s stock valued at $430,243,000 after purchasing an additional 2,492,722 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Fastenal by 47.3% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,691,506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $256,344,000 after purchasing an additional 1,505,936 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Fastenal by 16.5% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,745,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $368,563,000 after purchasing an additional 957,091 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Select Equity Group L.P. increased its stake in Fastenal by 60.2% during the 1st quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 2,481,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $133,869,000 after purchasing an additional 933,068 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $68.20.

Fastenal Stock Performance

NASDAQ FAST opened at $75.89 on Tuesday. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $50.30 and a 1 year high of $79.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 4.57 and a quick ratio of 2.27. The firm has a market cap of $43.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.57, a PEG ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $73.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $65.47.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 18th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.01. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.72% and a return on equity of 34.31%. The firm had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.75 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.43 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 1st were paid a $0.39 dividend. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 31st. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.23%.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In related news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 11,076 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total transaction of $832,472.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 11,076 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total transaction of $832,472.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 5,586 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.34, for a total transaction of $387,333.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 105,682 shares of company stock worth $7,375,853 in the last quarter. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.