Banco Santander S.A. Makes New Investment in Fastenal Company $FAST

Banco Santander S.A. acquired a new stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 251,139 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,316,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of FAST. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. increased its holdings in Fastenal by 71.6% during the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the period. REAP Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. First Horizon Corp bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Financial Perspectives Inc lifted its stake in Fastenal by 414.0% in the third quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 699 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 563 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Wolfe Research upped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $46.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Fastenal from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays set a $43.00 target price on Fastenal and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.27.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Scott Satterlee sold 15,964 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.19, for a total value of $705,449.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,209,500. The trade was a 24.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $46.04 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $44.39. Fastenal Company has a fifty-two week low of $35.31 and a fifty-two week high of $50.63. The company has a market capitalization of $52.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a current ratio of 4.85.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.83% and a net margin of 15.35%.The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.46 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 29th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 29th. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is 87.27%.

Fastenal Company Profile

Fastenal (NASDAQ: FAST) is a wholesale distributor of industrial and construction supplies, best known for its broad assortment of fasteners such as bolts, nuts, screws and anchors. Founded in Winona, Minnesota, Fastenal has grown from a regional supplier into a national and international distributor serving a wide range of end markets, including manufacturing, construction, maintenance, repair and operations (MRO), and government customers. The company is publicly traded and operates through a network of locally staffed branches combined with national distribution capabilities.

Product offerings extend beyond fasteners to include tools, safety and personal protective equipment, power transmission components, cutting and welding supplies, janitorial and material handling items, and other industrial consumables.