Erste Asset Management GmbH Makes New Investment in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 32,086 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,343,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in Fastenal by 20.4% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 4,307 shares of the company's stock valued at $308,000 after purchasing an additional 731 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its holdings in Fastenal by 9.7% in the third quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 13,980 shares of the company's stock valued at $998,000 after acquiring an additional 1,231 shares in the last quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC lifted its stake in Fastenal by 3.0% in the third quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC now owns 34,375 shares of the company's stock worth $2,455,000 after acquiring an additional 990 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC grew its holdings in Fastenal by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 29,243 shares of the company's stock worth $2,089,000 after acquiring an additional 1,543 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on FAST shares. HSBC lowered shares of Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. William Blair raised Fastenal from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Wolfe Research raised their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Fastenal has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $76.91.

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Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST traded up $0.75 during trading on Monday, reaching $76.01. The company had a trading volume of 975,664 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,912,953. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $61.36 and a fifty-two week high of $84.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.67 and a quick ratio of 2.28. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $74.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This is a positive change from Fastenal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal's payout ratio is currently 85.57%.

Fastenal 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.