Russell Investments Group Ltd. Boosts Stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 28.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 466,183 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 102,715 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.08% of Fastenal worth $30,204,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hartford Financial Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 46.9% during the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 479 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. bought a new stake in Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Pacific Center for Financial Services bought a new position in Fastenal in the third quarter worth approximately $66,000. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 77.7% during the 4th quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 1,084 shares of the company's stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fastenal news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 11,076 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total value of $832,472.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 11,076 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total value of $832,472.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 5,586 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.34, for a total value of $387,333.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 36,082 shares of company stock valued at $2,584,060. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on FAST shares. HSBC lifted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Fastenal from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their target price on Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fastenal presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $67.67.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.4 %

FAST stock traded up $0.24 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $68.18. 3,335,136 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,967,567. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $52.85 and a 1 year high of $79.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.75, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 2.49, a current ratio of 4.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $73.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.00.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.98% and a net margin of 15.68%. Fastenal's revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.12 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 24th. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.23%.

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.