Natixis Advisors L.P. Increases Stock Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 7.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 205,295 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 14,141 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $13,296,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hartford Financial Management Inc. raised its position in Fastenal by 46.9% in the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 283.2% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 755 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 558 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacific Center for Financial Services acquired a new position in Fastenal in the 3rd quarter valued at about $66,000. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, Director Daniel L. Johnson acquired 3,350 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $68.38 per share, with a total value of $229,073.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at $724,486.10. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Fastenal news, Director Daniel L. Johnson purchased 3,350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $68.38 per share, with a total value of $229,073.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at $724,486.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $1,364,255.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,940 shares in the company, valued at $417,285. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on FAST shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 15th. HSBC upped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.33.

Fastenal Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $66.41 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.49, a current ratio of 4.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $52.86 and a fifty-two week high of $79.04. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $72.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.29. The stock has a market cap of $38.02 billion, a PE ratio of 32.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.07.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.01). Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.98% and a net margin of 15.68%. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.52 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.12 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 25th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 24th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 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.