The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Has $28.47 Million Stock Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 0.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 398,565 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,533 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.07% of Fastenal worth $28,466,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FAST. King Luther Capital Management Corp raised its stake in Fastenal by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 8,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $619,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.9% in the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $545,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 5.8% in the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 2,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the period. Compass Ion Advisors LLC grew its position in Fastenal by 1.5% during the third quarter. Compass Ion Advisors LLC now owns 9,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $709,000 after buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Catalina Capital Group LLC increased its stake in Fastenal by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,359 shares of the company’s stock worth $240,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FAST has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $86.00 price objective (up from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 target price for the company. Stephens increased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.80.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST opened at $83.56 on Friday. Fastenal has a one year low of $59.49 and a one year high of $84.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.40 and a quick ratio of 2.29. The company has a market cap of $47.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.57, a PEG ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $70.29.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.30% and a net margin of 15.44%. Fastenal’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. Research analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 25th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.61%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP John Lewis Soderberg sold 488 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.32, for a total value of $37,244.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 680 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.86, for a total value of $52,944.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 208,289 shares of company stock valued at $16,123,438 over the last quarter. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Fastenal

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.