AIA Group Ltd Boosts Stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

AIA Group Ltd raised its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 6.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,866 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,012 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,028,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Roundview Capital LLC grew its stake in Fastenal by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 85,339 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,069,000 after acquiring an additional 479 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its stake in Fastenal by 55.3% in the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 19,099 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,140,000 after acquiring an additional 6,797 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in Fastenal by 18.1% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 239,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,218,000 after acquiring an additional 36,709 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in Fastenal by 24.6% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 26,251 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,559,000 after acquiring an additional 5,190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its stake in Fastenal by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 9,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $566,000 after acquiring an additional 786 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on FAST. Robert W. Baird dropped 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. HSBC upped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Loop Capital dropped their price objective 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Fastenal presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,590 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.25, for a total value of $1,633,607.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Fastenal news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,590 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.25, for a total value of $1,633,607.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson purchased 3,350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was bought at an average cost 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 71,640 shares of company stock worth $5,044,657 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Price Performance

NASDAQ FAST opened at $67.57 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a current ratio of 4.83. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $73.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.29. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $52.28 and a 52-week high of $79.04. The company has a market cap of $38.69 billion, a PE ratio of 33.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.05.

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

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

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

Fastenal 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.