New York Life Investment Management LLC Boosts Stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

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

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 3.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,830,951 shares of the company’s stock worth $751,780,000 after purchasing an additional 423,112 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 4.1% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,582,669 shares of the company’s stock worth $468,957,000 after purchasing an additional 337,168 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 5.9% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,444,498 shares of the company’s stock worth $406,767,000 after purchasing an additional 413,572 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 16.5% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,745,302 shares of the company’s stock worth $368,563,000 after purchasing an additional 957,091 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 9.3% during the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,651,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $363,445,000 after purchasing an additional 568,372 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. HSBC raised their target price on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price 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. Loop Capital reduced their target price on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 5,586 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.34, for a total value of $387,333.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 5,586 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.34, for a total value of $387,333.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Charles S. Miller sold 11,076 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total transaction of $832,472.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 36,082 shares of company stock worth $2,584,060 over the last 90 days. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.5 %

FAST opened at $68.43 on Friday. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $52.85 and a fifty-two week high of $79.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a current ratio of 4.83. The company has a fifty day moving average of $73.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $67.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.88, a PEG ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 1.07.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.01). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.68% and a return on equity of 33.98%. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

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

Fastenal 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.