Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Buys 3,300 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 181,100 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,300 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $11,730,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in Fastenal by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 45,154,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,435,637,000 after buying an additional 138,257 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Fastenal by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,830,951 shares of the company’s stock worth $751,780,000 after buying an additional 423,112 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Fastenal by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,676,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $736,259,000 after buying an additional 117,040 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its position in Fastenal by 37.8% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,092,207 shares of the company’s stock worth $430,243,000 after buying an additional 2,492,722 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Fastenal by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,502,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $445,642,000 after buying an additional 41,898 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST opened at $75.89 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $73.47 and its 200-day moving average is $65.47. The company has a current ratio of 4.57, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.43 billion, a PE ratio of 37.57, a PEG ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 1.05. Fastenal has a 1-year low of $50.30 and a 1-year high of $79.04.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 18th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.75 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 15.72%. Fastenal’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.43 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Investors 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 yield of 2.06%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 77.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on FAST. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $68.20.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In related news, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 5,586 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.34, for a total value of $387,333.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Fastenal news, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 5,586 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.34, for a total value of $387,333.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 34,042 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.48, for a total value of $2,331,196.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,369,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 105,682 shares of company stock valued at $7,375,853 in the last 90 days. 0.41% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Fastenal Company 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.