Erste Asset Management GmbH Purchases New Stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 32,086 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,343,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of FAST. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the third quarter valued at $27,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of FAST stock traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $76.09. The company had a trading volume of 2,816,094 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,916,111. The company has a market capitalization of $43.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $74.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.46. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $61.36 and a twelve month high of $84.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 4.67.

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Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.84 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.46 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.43 dividend. This is a boost from Fastenal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Fastenal's payout ratio is 85.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. William Blair upgraded shares of Fastenal from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research upped their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $76.91.

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.