Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Stake Trimmed by Norinchukin Bank The

Norinchukin Bank The reduced its holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 11.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 332,008 shares of the company's stock after selling 44,526 shares during the quarter. Norinchukin Bank The owned approximately 0.06% of Fastenal worth $23,875,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth approximately $49,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at $68,000. Finally, Eastern Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 440.7% during the 4th quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 984 shares of the company's stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 802 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fastenal news, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.31, for a total value of $1,219,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,997 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $487,616.07. This represents a 71.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on FAST shares. Wolfe Research upgraded Fastenal from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. William Blair raised Fastenal from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Fastenal from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $79.10.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST traded down $1.29 on Monday, reaching $80.29. 3,089,847 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,087,863. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $61.36 and a fifty-two week high of $84.88. The business's 50-day moving average is $76.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.79. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 4.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.95, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.52. The firm had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, April 25th will be given a $0.44 dividend. This is a boost from Fastenal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 25th. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 87.56%.

About Fastenal

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.