Neuberger Berman Group LLC Increases Stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Neuberger Berman Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 215.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 61,422 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 41,962 shares during the quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $3,978,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. Hartford Financial Management Inc. boosted its position in Fastenal by 46.9% during the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. bought a new stake in Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Fastenal by 283.2% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at about $52,000. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.3 %

NASDAQ FAST traded up $0.22 during trading on Friday, hitting $66.02. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,752,624 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,993,408. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 4.83 and a quick ratio of 2.49. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $52.86 and a fifty-two week high of $79.04. The company has a market cap of $37.80 billion, a PE ratio of 32.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $70.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.00.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period last year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 25th were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 24th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Fastenal from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. HSBC raised their price target on Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their price target on Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Daniel L. Johnson bought 3,350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $68.38 per share, with a total value of $229,073.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $724,486.10. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 11,076 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total transaction of $832,472.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson purchased 3,350 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $68.38 per share, with a total value of $229,073.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. 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.