AIA Group Ltd Raises Stock Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

AIA Group Ltd grew its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 6.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,866 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,012 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,028,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Flossbach Von Storch AG purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,280,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 77.7% in the 4th quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 1,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 15.3% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 135,457 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,774,000 after acquiring an additional 17,987 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 21.2% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 163,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,606,000 after acquiring an additional 28,629 shares during the period. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 63.2% in the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,990 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,036,000 after acquiring an additional 6,190 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of FAST opened at $67.57 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.49, a current ratio of 4.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $52.28 and a fifty-two week high of $79.04. The company has a market cap of $38.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.45, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.05. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $73.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.29.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.01). Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.98% and a net margin of 15.68%. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 25th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 24th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 77.23%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Daniel L. Johnson bought 3,350 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $68.38 per share, for a total transaction of $229,073.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $724,486.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 5,586 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.34, for a total transaction of $387,333.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson purchased 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 purchase, the director now owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at $724,486.10. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 71,640 shares of company stock worth $5,044,657. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Company Profile

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.