B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG Invests $9.13 Million in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 127,863 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,132,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 3.4% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,909,206 shares of the company's stock valued at $371,334,000 after purchasing an additional 193,734 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.4% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,665,482 shares of the company's stock worth $293,179,000 after acquiring an additional 66,130 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in Fastenal by 1.1% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 4,469,636 shares of the company's stock valued at $319,221,000 after buying an additional 48,977 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Fastenal by 19.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,837,530 shares of the company's stock worth $241,161,000 after purchasing an additional 636,546 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 3,190,744 shares of the company's stock worth $200,506,000 after buying an additional 91,411 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of Fastenal stock traded up $0.23 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $81.82. 1,991,012 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,302,026. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 4.40. The company has a market capitalization of $46.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.71, a P/E/G ratio of 4.80 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $75.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $69.51. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $59.47 and a 12 month high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 33.30%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio is 77.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on FAST shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Stephens raised their target price on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group began coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $88.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $74.80.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In related news, VP John Lewis Soderberg sold 488 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.32, for a total transaction of $37,244.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 680 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.86, for a total transaction 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 90 days. Corporate 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.