MML Investors Services LLC Acquires 2,089 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

MML Investors Services LLC grew its holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 7.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,421 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,089 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $2,030,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC lifted its position in Fastenal by 1,019.0% during 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 period. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in Fastenal during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 528.4% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on FAST. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Stephens raised their target price on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fastenal currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $77.40.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of FAST opened at $78.14 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $79.63 and its 200 day moving average is $71.47. The company has a current ratio of 4.40, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Fastenal has a 12-month low of $61.33 and a 12-month high of $84.88. The company has a market capitalization of $44.77 billion, a PE ratio of 38.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 1.00.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 33.30%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th were issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.61%.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, CAO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 13,567 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.19, for a total transaction of $1,033,669.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,096 shares in the company, valued at $388,264.24. This trade represents a 72.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 680 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.86, for a total transaction of $52,944.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 158,289 shares of company stock valued at $12,639,438. 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.