Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Purchases 525 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 11.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,249 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $337,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FAST. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Fastenal by 47.3% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,691,506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $256,344,000 after purchasing an additional 1,505,936 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Fastenal by 16.5% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,745,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $368,563,000 after purchasing an additional 957,091 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its stake in Fastenal by 80.0% in the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,600,206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,435,000 after purchasing an additional 711,265 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 9.3% during the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,651,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $363,445,000 after acquiring an additional 568,372 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 3.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,830,951 shares of the company’s stock worth $751,780,000 after acquiring an additional 423,112 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Daniel L. Johnson bought 3,350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $68.38 per share, with a total value of $229,073.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $724,486.10. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Daniel L. Johnson purchased 3,350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $68.38 per share, with a total value of $229,073.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $724,486.10. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Charles S. Miller sold 11,076 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total transaction of $832,472.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 48,050 shares of company stock valued at $3,411,049. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on FAST. HSBC boosted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Fastenal from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.67.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of FAST stock traded up $0.62 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $67.74. 3,063,444 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,031,689. The company has a market capitalization of $38.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.63, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 4.83, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $73.54 and its 200 day moving average is $66.63. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $52.28 and a 1 year high of $79.04.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.91 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.68% and a return on equity of 33.98%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.52 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.12 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 24th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.23%.

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.