Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd Boosts Stock Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd lifted its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 4.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 97,798 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,114 shares during the period. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $6,985,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. West Tower Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 3rd quarter worth about $286,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Fastenal by 0.4% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 398,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,466,000 after purchasing an additional 1,533 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its position in Fastenal by 63.3% in the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 106,667 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,618,000 after buying an additional 41,367 shares during the last quarter. DRW Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the third quarter valued at $356,000. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 18,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,344,000 after buying an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.4 %

FAST stock opened at $84.10 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $76.80 and its 200 day moving average is $69.99. The stock has a market cap of $48.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.91 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 4.40, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. 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 results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 33.30%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th were paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 25th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.61%.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other news, insider William Joseph Drazkowski sold 16,362 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.65, for a total transaction of $1,270,509.30. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,997 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $465,667.05. This trade represents a 73.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP John Lewis Soderberg sold 488 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 208,289 shares of company stock worth $16,123,438. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group initiated coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $86.00 price target (up from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.80.

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.