Nomura Holdings Inc. Trims Stake in Fastenal Company $FAST

Key Points

• Nomura Holdings Inc. reduced its stake in Fastenal Company by 71.8%, now holding 22,392 shares valued at approximately $1.736 million after selling 56,975 shares.
• Several other institutional investors significantly increased their stakes in Fastenal during the first quarter, with Horizon Financial Services enhancing its position by 5,330%, now owning 543 shares valued at $42,000.
• Fastenal's recent earnings surpassed analyst expectations, reporting $0.29 EPS on revenues of $2.08 billion, marking an 8.6% increase year-over-year.

Nomura Holdings Inc. lowered its holdings in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 71.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,392 shares of the company's stock after selling 56,975 shares during the quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc.'s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,736,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Horizon Financial Services LLC raised its position in Fastenal by 5,330.0% in the first quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 543 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the first quarter valued at $49,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the first quarter valued at $57,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 5,661.5% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 749 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 736 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Close Asset Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 156.4% in the first quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd now owns 800 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird raised Fastenal from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Stephens lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Baird R W raised Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Loop Capital reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $46.36.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.9%

FAST opened at $49.19 on Wednesday. Fastenal Company has a 12 month low of $32.04 and a 12 month high of $50.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.30, a PEG ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 0.97. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $46.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.97.

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

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fastenal news, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.03, for a total transaction of $1,662,414.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.05, for a total value of $2,341,188.20. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 11,880 shares of the company's stock, valued at $570,834. This trade represents a 80.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 111,230 shares of company stock valued at $5,288,364 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

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.

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