Norden Group LLC Boosts Stock Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Norden Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 2,451.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 119,568 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 114,881 shares during the quarter. Norden Group LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $9,224,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 101,713 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,588,000 after purchasing an additional 5,509 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $747,000. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 900,171 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,304,000 after acquiring an additional 31,814 shares in the last quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,282,000. Finally, ICW Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Fastenal by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 36,090 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,338,000 after purchasing an additional 694 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $62.69 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.49, a current ratio of 4.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $53.83 and a 12 month high of $79.04. The company has a market cap of $35.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.03, a P/E/G ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $68.63.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.01). Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.98% and a net margin of 15.68%. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. Fastenal’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 25th were given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 24th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.49%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fastenal news, EVP James C. Jansen sold 11,428 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total transaction of $732,191.96. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,677,096.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP James C. Jansen sold 11,428 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total value of $732,191.96. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,176 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,677,096.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson purchased 3,350 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $68.38 per share, with a total value of $229,073.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $724,486.10. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Loop Capital lowered their price target on Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 15th. HSBC lifted their target price on Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $68.80.

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.