LGT Group Foundation Buys 42,586 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

LGT Group Foundation raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 706,774 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 42,586 shares during the period. LGT Group Foundation owned 0.12% of Fastenal worth $50,824,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FAST. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal in the third quarter worth $27,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the third quarter worth $36,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research upped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group assumed coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $88.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, HSBC lowered Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fastenal presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $76.91.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FAST traded down $0.23 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $74.01. 326,369 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,912,527. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.82, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.02. Fastenal has a one year low of $61.36 and a one year 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. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $74.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.83.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last posted 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 net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The firm's revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This is a boost from Fastenal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio is 85.57%.

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.