Mizuho Markets Americas LLC Has $5.98 Million Stock Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Mizuho Markets Americas LLC reduced its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 83,791 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,241 shares during the period. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $5,984,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 84.5% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 2,735 shares of the company’s stock valued at $210,000 after purchasing an additional 1,253 shares during the last quarter. Cynosure Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 1st quarter worth about $336,000. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its stake in Fastenal by 21.6% in the 1st quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 1,035,577 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,884,000 after buying an additional 184,157 shares during the last quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. grew its stake in Fastenal by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 13,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,030,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Fastenal by 19.4% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 99,183 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,651,000 after acquiring an additional 16,147 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of FAST stock opened at $81.85 on Friday. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $59.47 and a 52-week high of $84.88. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $74.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 4.40. The company has a market capitalization of $46.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.72, a PEG ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.99.

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

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total transaction of $3,116,996.16. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,489,266.52. This represents a 13.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP John Lewis Soderberg sold 488 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.32, for a total transaction of $37,244.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 254,033 shares of company stock worth $19,240,434 over the last quarter. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on FAST shares. Stephens increased their target price on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $86.00 price objective (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Fastenal in a report on Wednesday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 target price for the company. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.80.

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.