Mizuho Markets Americas LLC Has $1.27 Million Stock Holdings in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST)

Key Points

• Mizuho Markets Americas LLC significantly reduced its holdings in Fastenal Company by 53.9% during the 1st quarter, now owning 16,365 shares valued at approximately $1.27 million.
• Fastenal reported earnings per share of $0.29 for the latest quarter, beating estimates and resulting in an 8.6% increase in revenue compared to the previous year.
• Despite recent stock movements, the company's consensus rating remains a "Hold", with a target price averaging $46.36 from analysts.

Mizuho Markets Americas LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 53.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,365 shares of the company's stock after selling 19,150 shares during the period. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC's holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,269,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of FAST. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 15.2% in the 1st quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 629,723 shares of the company's stock worth $48,835,000 after acquiring an additional 82,979 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Fastenal by 22.8% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,312,865 shares of the company's stock worth $256,913,000 after purchasing an additional 614,766 shares during the period. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Fastenal by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 21,638 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,678,000 after purchasing an additional 792 shares in the last quarter. Cynosure Group LLC increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 18.6% during the 1st quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 4,812 shares of the company's stock valued at $373,000 after purchasing an additional 756 shares during the period. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 1st quarter worth $49,000. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Stock Up 1.6%

NASDAQ:FAST traded up $0.76 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $49.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,825,750 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,633,781. Fastenal Company has a one year low of $32.04 and a one year high of $49.26. The business's 50-day moving average is $44.10 and its 200-day moving average is $40.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.22 and a quick ratio of 2.12. The company has a market cap of $56.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.95.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.01. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.33% and a net margin of 15.30%. The business had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.07 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.25 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 29th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 29th. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 84.62%.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, CFO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 21,052 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.21, for a total transaction of $951,760.92. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $460,780.32. This represents a 67.38% 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 link. Also, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.03, for a total transaction of $1,662,414.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 137,112 shares of company stock worth $6,304,410. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Baird R W raised Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Fastenal from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the company from $47.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Fastenal from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $46.36.

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.