Mizuho Securities USA LLC Has $2.65 Million Stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 15.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,133 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,016 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $2,652,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Fastenal by 84.5% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 2,735 shares of the company’s stock worth $210,000 after purchasing an additional 1,253 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,112 shares of the company’s stock valued at $626,000 after acquiring an additional 573 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in Fastenal by 61.1% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 347,807 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,830,000 after acquiring an additional 131,887 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in Fastenal by 13.8% in the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 61,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,722,000 after purchasing an additional 7,418 shares during the period. Finally, LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal in the first quarter valued at $39,000. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $86.00 price target (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Stephens increased their target price on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price target for the company. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.80.

Fastenal Stock Performance

NASDAQ FAST opened at $83.08 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $76.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.72. The firm has a market cap of $47.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.33, a PEG ratio of 4.78 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.40 and a quick ratio of 2.29. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $59.47 and a 1 year high of $84.88.

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

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 25th were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fastenal news, CAO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 13,567 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.19, for a total value of $1,033,669.73. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $388,264.24. This trade represents a 72.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP John Lewis Soderberg sold 488 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.32, for a total value of $37,244.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 208,289 shares of company stock valued at $16,123,438. 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.