Fastenal Company $FAST Shares Acquired by Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,325,411 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 53,648 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.12% of Fastenal worth $53,189,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. REAP Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Field & Main Bank acquired a new stake in Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Tucker Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Fastenal from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Wolfe Research dropped their target price on 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. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a “positive” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed 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 given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.77.

Fastenal Price Performance

Fastenal stock opened at $44.20 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $50.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.73. Fastenal Company has a 52 week low of $38.97 and a 52 week high of $50.63. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $44.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.85. The company has a quick ratio of 2.34, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 13th. The company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.30. The firm had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.25% and a net margin of 15.39%.Fastenal’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 36,920 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.34, for a total transaction of $1,747,792.80. Following the transaction, the director owned 40,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,893,600. This represents a 48.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

About Fastenal

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.