Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Purchased by Mizuho Securities USA LLC

Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 46.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 54,297 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,164 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $3,904,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on FAST. William Blair raised Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Wolfe Research lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. HSBC downgraded Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.91.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $74.73 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $42.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $75.65. The company has a current ratio of 4.67, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $61.36 and a twelve month high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. Fastenal’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.57%.

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.