Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV Raises Stake in Fastenal Company $FAST

Key Points

• Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV increased its holdings in Fastenal Company by 19.9%, acquiring an additional 56,468 shares, bringing its total ownership to 339,880 shares valued at approximately $26.36 million.
• Fastenal reported earnings higher than expectations, with $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate of $0.28.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, representing an annual yield of 1.8%, while its dividend payout ratio stands at 84.62%.

Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV grew its stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 19.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 339,880 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 56,468 shares during the period. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV owned approximately 0.06% of Fastenal worth $26,358,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 94,615 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,337,000 after purchasing an additional 7,033 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 14.0% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 4,227,902 shares of the company's stock valued at $327,868,000 after purchasing an additional 519,078 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 6,276 shares of the company's stock valued at $487,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Interval Partners LP boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 27.0% in the 1st quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 64,505 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,002,000 after purchasing an additional 13,705 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cinctive Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Fastenal in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,011,000. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Fastenal news, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total value of $333,000.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $583,747.98. This represents a 36.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 21,052 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.21, for a total transaction of $951,760.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,192 shares in the company, valued at $460,780.32. This trade represents a 67.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 111,230 shares of company stock valued at $5,288,364. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Fastenal Stock Down 4.5%

Fastenal stock traded down $2.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $47.99. 9,382,497 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,178,352. The company has a market cap of $55.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.14, a P/E/G ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.97. Fastenal Company has a twelve month low of $32.53 and a twelve month high of $50.63. The company has a quick ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 4.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a fifty day moving average of $46.90 and a 200-day moving average of $42.25.

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

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th were given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 29th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio is currently 84.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FAST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday. Northcoast Research started coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, August 21st. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Fastenal from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $55.00 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 report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Wolfe Research restated a "positive" rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Fastenal currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $46.82.

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.