Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Purchases New Shares in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 230,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,648,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of FAST. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $49,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth approximately $68,000. Finally, Eastern Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 440.7% during the fourth quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 984 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fastenal Stock Down 4.6 %

FAST opened at $74.42 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 company has a market cap of $42.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.03, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.04. Fastenal has a one year low of $61.36 and a one year high of $84.88. The business’s fifty day moving average is $75.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.19.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 EPS 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 business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. Fastenal’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FAST has been the topic of several recent research reports. HSBC cut shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. William Blair raised shares of Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Hsbc Global Res lowered Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wolfe Research raised Fastenal from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.91.

About Fastenal

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.