Vontobel Holding Ltd. Grows Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 34.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,304 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 11,956 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $2,999,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 0.3% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 45,154,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,435,637,000 after purchasing an additional 138,257 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Fastenal by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,830,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $751,780,000 after buying an additional 423,112 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 0.9% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,676,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $736,259,000 after acquiring an additional 117,040 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 37.8% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,092,207 shares of the company’s stock worth $430,243,000 after acquiring an additional 2,492,722 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,502,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $445,642,000 after purchasing an additional 41,898 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of FAST opened at $67.50 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $38.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.42, a PEG ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.05. Fastenal has a 52 week low of $52.28 and a 52 week high of $79.04. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $73.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.21. The company has a quick ratio of 2.49, a current ratio of 4.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.68% and a return on equity of 33.98%. The company’s revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.13 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 25th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 24th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on FAST shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Fastenal from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 12th. HSBC increased their price objective on Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In related news, Director Daniel L. Johnson bought 3,350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $68.38 per share, for a total transaction of $229,073.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at $724,486.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Daniel L. Johnson acquired 3,350 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $68.38 per share, with a total value of $229,073.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at $724,486.10. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider William Joseph Drazkowski sold 11,968 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.10, for a total transaction of $826,988.80. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,997 shares in the company, valued at approximately $414,392.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 71,640 shares of company stock valued at $5,044,657. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

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.