Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Boosts Stock Holdings in Fastenal Company $FAST

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 4.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,531,484 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 68,566 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. owned about 0.13% of Fastenal worth $75,104,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Values First Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 183.0% during the second quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 9,378 shares of the company’s stock valued at $394,000 after buying an additional 6,064 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 6.3% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,713,469 shares of the company’s stock valued at $181,626,000 after purchasing an additional 219,154 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 103.5% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 149,169,494 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,265,119,000 after purchasing an additional 75,852,223 shares during the period. Optas LLC boosted its position in Fastenal by 100.2% in the second quarter. Optas LLC now owns 13,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $576,000 after buying an additional 6,863 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Fastenal by 7,923.2% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,268,795 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,222,000 after buying an additional 1,252,981 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FAST has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays set a $43.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $53.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wolfe Research lowered their price objective on Fastenal from $43.00 to $42.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $46.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fastenal presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other news, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $49.58 per share, with a total value of $49,580.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $495,800. This trade represents a 11.11% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Sarah N. Nielsen acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $39.60 per share, with a total value of $39,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $198,000. The trade was a 25.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.8%

FAST opened at $43.62 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $50.08 billion, a PE ratio of 39.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.90. Fastenal Company has a twelve month low of $35.31 and a twelve month high of $50.63. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $41.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.46. The company has a quick ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 4.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.26. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.83% and a net margin of 15.35%.The company had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.46 EPS. Fastenal’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 29th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 80.00%.

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.