Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. Raises Position in Fastenal Company $FAST

Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. grew its position in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 33.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 59,869 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,964 shares during the period. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $2,403,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Tredje AP fonden boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Tredje AP fonden now owns 98,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,961,000 after acquiring an additional 9,641 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 18,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $745,000 after acquiring an additional 3,640 shares in the last quarter. Profund Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 100,764 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,044,000 after acquiring an additional 5,049 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 5,723,507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $229,684,000 after acquiring an additional 782,713 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 19,737 shares of the company’s stock valued at $792,000 after acquiring an additional 551 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.3%

FAST stock opened at $43.68 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $50.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.75. Fastenal Company has a 52 week low of $38.97 and a 52 week high of $50.63. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $45.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.70. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 13th. The company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30. The firm had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.39% and a return on equity of 33.25%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 28th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 28th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is presently 84.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FAST has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $48.00 to $55.00 in a report on Monday, April 13th. Wolfe Research lowered their target price on shares of Fastenal from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Friday, March 27th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.77.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 36,920 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.34, for a total transaction of $1,747,792.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 40,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,893,600. The trade was a 48.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Profile

Fastenal (NASDAQ: FAST) is a wholesale distributor of industrial and construction supplies, best known for its broad assortment of fasteners such as bolts, nuts, screws and anchors. Founded in Winona, Minnesota, Fastenal has grown from a regional supplier into a national and international distributor serving a wide range of end markets, including manufacturing, construction, maintenance, repair and operations (MRO), and government customers. The company is publicly traded and operates through a network of locally staffed branches combined with national distribution capabilities.

Product offerings extend beyond fasteners to include tools, safety and personal protective equipment, power transmission components, cutting and welding supplies, janitorial and material handling items, and other industrial consumables.