Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Bought by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 9.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 174,968 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,553 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $12,496,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in FAST. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Fastenal in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Central Valley Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1,019.0% during the third quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 428 shares during the period. Finally, LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the first quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Trading Up 0.9 %

FAST opened at $83.08 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $47.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.87 and a beta of 0.99. Fastenal has a 52 week low of $59.47 and a 52 week high of $84.88. The business’s 50 day moving average is $76.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.76. The company has a quick ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 4.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 33.30%. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. Fastenal’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th were paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on FAST shares. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $86.00 price objective (up from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Stephens upped their price target on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider William Joseph Drazkowski sold 16,362 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.65, for a total value of $1,270,509.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,997 shares in the company, valued at approximately $465,667.05. This trade represents a 73.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson sold 8,474 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $883,199.20. The trade was a 44.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 208,289 shares of company stock valued at $16,123,438 over the last quarter. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.