Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Purchased by New York Life Investment Management LLC

New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 9.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 89,247 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 7,608 shares during the quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $5,781,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hartford Financial Management Inc. raised its position in Fastenal by 46.9% during the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 479 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. purchased a new position in Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt raised its position in Fastenal by 77.7% during the 4th quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 1,084 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacific Center for Financial Services purchased a new position in Fastenal during the 3rd quarter worth $66,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 11,076 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total transaction of $832,472.16. The transaction 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 11,076 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total transaction of $832,472.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson purchased 3,350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $68.38 per share, for a total transaction of $229,073.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at $724,486.10. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 36,082 shares of company stock worth $2,584,060. 0.41% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on FAST shares. Loop Capital cut their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 15th. HSBC increased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Fastenal from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 12th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.67.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of FAST opened at $68.43 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.49, a current ratio of 4.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $73.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $67.01. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $52.85 and a 52-week high of $79.04. The company has a market capitalization of $39.18 billion, a PE ratio of 33.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 1.07.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted 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). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.68% and a return on equity of 33.98%. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 24th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.23%.

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.