Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. Grows Position in Fastenal Company $FAST

Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 97.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 68,923 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 34,088 shares during the quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $2,895,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 80.1% in the second quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 17,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $739,000 after acquiring an additional 7,828 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $542,000. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its position in Fastenal by 123.2% in the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 658,272 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,647,000 after purchasing an additional 363,353 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Fastenal by 108.0% during the 2nd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 26,298 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,105,000 after buying an additional 13,653 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Providence Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 100.0% during the 2nd quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 22,906 shares of the company’s stock valued at $962,000 after buying an additional 11,453 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on FAST shares. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on Fastenal in a report on Thursday, August 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Barclays cut their price target on Fastenal from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.32.

Fastenal Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $39.59 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $43.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.92. Fastenal Company has a 12-month low of $35.31 and a 12-month high of $50.63. The company has a current ratio of 4.26, a quick ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.01). Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.69% and a net margin of 15.34%.The business had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.26 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 28th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 28th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In related news, Director Sarah N. Nielsen purchased 1,000 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $39.60 per share, for a total transaction of $39,600.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 5,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $198,000. The trade was a 25.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $49.58 per share, for a total transaction of $49,580.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $495,800. This represents a 11.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have purchased 3,000 shares of company stock valued at $131,630 over the last ninety days. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.