Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Boosts Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 9.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 194,979 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,164 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $14,021,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 1,019.0% in the third quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 51.0% during the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 533 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on FAST. UBS Group started coverage on Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.91.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of FAST stock opened at $75.46 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 4.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 1.02. Fastenal has a one year low of $61.36 and a one year high of $84.88. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $77.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.27.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.02). Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1,842,560.16 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.46 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.16 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 77.61%.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, Director Rita J. Heise sold 10,888 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.67, for a total transaction of $845,670.96. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,553,400. The trade was a 35.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson sold 8,474 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.36, for a total transaction of $706,392.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $883,199.20. This represents a 44.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 74,660 shares of company stock worth $6,211,126. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.