Lantz Financial LLC Increases Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Lantz Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,502 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the quarter. Lantz Financial LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,690,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of FAST. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,989,485 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,999,009,000 after buying an additional 1,346,863 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Fastenal by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,878,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,419,690,000 after acquiring an additional 608,596 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Fastenal by 5.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,683,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,188,251,000 after acquiring an additional 880,372 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 3.4% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,909,206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $371,334,000 after purchasing an additional 193,734 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 5.0% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,718,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $336,974,000 after purchasing an additional 226,126 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America started coverage on Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price objective on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fastenal currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.91.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 31,818 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total value of $2,688,621.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,168,521. The trade was a 10.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rita J. Heise sold 10,888 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.67, for a total value of $845,670.96. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,553,400. The trade was a 35.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 74,660 shares of company stock valued at $6,211,126 over the last 90 days. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ FAST opened at $75.53 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $77.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.38. 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 cap of $43.27 billion, a PE ratio of 37.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 1.02. Fastenal has a 52 week low of $61.36 and a 52 week high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1,842,560.16 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. Fastenal’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.57%.

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.