Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Acquires 10,937 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 41.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,315 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,937 shares during the quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $2,597,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter worth $5,757,000. PDS Planning Inc bought a new stake in Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth $218,000. RD Lewis Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth $764,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Fastenal by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,177 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,307,000 after acquiring an additional 2,053 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cozad Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Fastenal by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,985 shares of the company’s stock worth $215,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Trading Up 0.5 %

FAST stock opened at $76.46 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 4.67. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $74.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.47. Fastenal has a 52 week low of $61.36 and a 52 week high of $84.88. The company has a market capitalization of $43.85 billion, a PE ratio of 38.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.02). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.46 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side 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 was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is 85.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on FAST shares. Wolfe Research upped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. HSBC lowered shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Fastenal has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.91.

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.