NEOS Investment Management LLC Increases Stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

NEOS Investment Management LLC grew its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 52.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 155,958 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 53,622 shares during the period. NEOS Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $11,215,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $873,000. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,756,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 3.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,572,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $350,703,000 after buying an additional 165,423 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in Fastenal by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 124,213 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,932,000 after acquiring an additional 7,559 shares during the period. Finally, Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. raised its position in Fastenal by 29.9% in the fourth quarter. Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. now owns 36,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,615,000 after acquiring an additional 8,380 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fastenal Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $77.09 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.67 and a quick ratio of 2.28. The firm has a market cap of $44.21 billion, a PE ratio of 38.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $75.82. Fastenal has a 1-year low of $61.36 and a 1-year high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.46 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Wolfe Research boosted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. HSBC lowered shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. William Blair raised shares of Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Hsbc Global Res cut Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fastenal presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.91.

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.