Vontobel Holding Ltd. Purchases 11,956 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 34.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,304 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,956 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $2,999,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of FAST. Hartford Financial Management Inc. lifted its stake in Fastenal by 46.9% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 479 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC now owns 7,212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $467,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Berkshire Bank boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 5,777 shares of the company’s stock valued at $316,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Fastenal by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $873,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Koshinski Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,075 shares of the company’s stock valued at $329,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fastenal news, Director Daniel L. Johnson bought 3,350 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $68.38 per share, for a total transaction of $229,073.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $724,486.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Daniel L. Johnson acquired 3,350 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $68.38 per share, for a total transaction of $229,073.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at $724,486.10. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,590 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.25, for a total transaction of $1,633,607.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 71,640 shares of company stock worth $5,044,657. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. HSBC upped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Fastenal from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.67.

Fastenal Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of FAST opened at $67.50 on Friday. Fastenal has a 1-year low of $52.28 and a 1-year high of $79.04. The company has a current ratio of 4.83, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $73.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.42, a PEG ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.05.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.01). Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.98% and a net margin of 15.68%. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.13 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 24th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.23%.

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.