Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. Acquires Shares of 542 Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. acquired a new position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at about $268,570,000. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in Fastenal by 37.8% during the fourth 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 during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Fastenal by 47.3% during the third 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 during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Fastenal by 16.5% during the third 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 during the period. Finally, Select Equity Group L.P. grew its holdings in Fastenal by 60.2% during the first 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 during the period. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on 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 lowered their price objective on 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 boosted their price objective on Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 11,076 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total value of $832,472.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 19,420 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.25, for a total value of $1,364,255.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $417,285. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Charles S. Miller sold 11,076 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total value of $832,472.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 105,682 shares of company stock worth $7,375,853. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Price Performance

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $68.79 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $39.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 1.05. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $52.28 and a 12 month high of $79.04. The business’s 50-day moving average is $73.72 and its 200 day moving average is $66.18.

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). The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.91 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.98% and a net margin of 15.68%. Fastenal’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 25th will be given a $0.39 dividend. 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 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.