Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Purchased by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 6.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,533,451 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 98,544 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned 0.27% of Fastenal worth $99,322,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FAST. Roundview Capital LLC boosted its stake in Fastenal by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 85,339 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,069,000 after purchasing an additional 479 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its stake in Fastenal by 55.3% during the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 19,099 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,140,000 after purchasing an additional 6,797 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 18.1% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 239,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,218,000 after buying an additional 36,709 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 24.6% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 26,251 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,559,000 after buying an additional 5,190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 9,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $566,000 after buying an additional 786 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider William Joseph Drazkowski sold 11,968 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $414,392.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 34,042 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.48, for a total transaction of $2,331,196.16. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,369,600. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider William Joseph Drazkowski sold 11,968 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,997 shares in the company, valued at $414,392.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 105,682 shares of company stock worth $7,375,853 over the last 90 days. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on FAST shares. HSBC boosted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Loop Capital dropped 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. Robert W. Baird dropped 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, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.67.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.9 %

NASDAQ FAST opened at $68.79 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 4.83 and a quick ratio of 2.49. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $73.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.18. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $52.28 and a 12 month high of $79.04. The company has a market capitalization of $39.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.05, a PEG ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 1.05.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released 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 business had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 24th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.23%.

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.