The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Has $35.49 Million Stock Position in Fastenal Company $FAST

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 739,046 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,687 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.06% of Fastenal worth $35,495,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its holdings in Fastenal by 2.4% in the first 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. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 2.4% during the second quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC now owns 9,006 shares of the company’s stock worth $433,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 12,356 shares of the company’s stock worth $573,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the period. Sittner & Nelson LLC grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 68,495 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,749,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 12.9% in the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In related news, Director Michael J. Ancius sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.00, for a total transaction of $147,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 58,690 shares in the company, valued at $2,875,810. This trade represents a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Rita Heise sold 34,964 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.05, for a total transaction of $1,749,948.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,001,000. This represents a 63.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on FAST shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $46.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $55.00 price target on shares of Fastenal and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Fastenal has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.17.

Fastenal Trading Up 0.6%

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $49.32 on Friday. Fastenal Company has a fifty-two week low of $38.97 and a fifty-two week high of $52.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 4.18 and a quick ratio of 2.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.59 billion, a PE ratio of 41.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.72. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $48.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.70.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.33. Fastenal had a return on equity of 34.03% and a net margin of 15.45%.The business had revenue of $2.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.29 EPS. Fastenal’s quarterly revenue was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 1.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 28th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 88.14%.

Fastenal Profile

Fastenal Company (NASDAQ: FAST) is a distributor of industrial and construction supplies. The company provides fasteners such as bolts, nuts, screws and related hardware, along with safety products, tools, material-handling equipment, welding supplies, janitorial products and other maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) materials.

Fastenal serves manufacturers, construction companies, contractors, government organizations and other commercial customers. Its offerings are delivered through a network of branch locations, customer-specific onsite operations, industrial vending machines, e-commerce platforms and other supply-chain services designed to help customers manage inventory and reduce procurement time.

Founded in 1967 by Bob Kierlin in Winona, Minnesota, Fastenal has expanded from a regional fastener supplier into an international industrial distributor.