Mizuho Markets Americas LLC Sells 8,241 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Mizuho Markets Americas LLC lessened its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 9.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 83,791 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,241 shares during the period. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $5,984,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of FAST. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 3rd quarter valued at about $310,000. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in Fastenal by 499.7% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 132,046 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,186,000 after acquiring an additional 110,027 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 210,998 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,259,000 after acquiring an additional 11,436 shares in the last quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,643,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 61.1% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 347,807 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,830,000 after purchasing an additional 131,887 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In related news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total transaction of $3,116,996.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,489,266.52. The trade was a 13.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,480 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.92, for a total transaction of $1,970,441.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 254,033 shares of company stock worth $19,240,434. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of FAST opened at $81.85 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.40 and a quick ratio of 2.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.99. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $59.47 and a 1 year high of $84.88. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $74.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.23.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 33.30%. Fastenal’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAST has been the subject of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $86.00 target price (up from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price target on the stock. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Fastenal currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.80.

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.