B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Has $8.61 Million Holdings in Fastenal Company $FAST

Key Points

• B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG has increased its stake in Fastenal Company by 9.5%, now holding 111,024 shares valued at $8.61 million.
• Multiple institutional investors have also raised their stakes in Fastenal during the first quarter, with Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increasing its position by 8.9%.
• Fastenal recently reported earnings surpassing expectations, with $0.29 earnings per share, reflecting an 8.6% revenue increase compared to the previous year.

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG grew its stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 9.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 111,024 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 9,636 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG's holdings in Fastenal were worth $8,610,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Horizon Financial Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 5,330.0% in the first quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 543 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 533 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 481.9% in the fourth quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 611 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 506 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in shares of Fastenal in the first quarter worth about $49,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal in the first quarter worth about $57,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 5,661.5% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 749 shares of the company's stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 736 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on FAST shares. Wolfe Research reaffirmed a "positive" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 price target on shares of Fastenal and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Baird R W raised shares of Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Loop Capital reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $46.36.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.05, for a total value of $2,341,188.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 11,880 shares in the company, valued at $570,834. This represents a 80.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total transaction of $333,000.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 11,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $583,747.98. This trade represents a 36.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 111,230 shares of company stock worth $5,288,364 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Trading Down 1.0%

NASDAQ:FAST traded down $0.52 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $49.66. The stock had a trading volume of 4,613,202 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,464,649. Fastenal Company has a one year low of $32.04 and a one year high of $50.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a current ratio of 4.22. The company has a market cap of $56.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.75, a P/E/G ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 0.97. The business's 50 day moving average is $46.11 and its 200-day moving average is $41.83.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.01. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 32.33%. The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.25 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th were paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 29th. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio is presently 84.62%.

About Fastenal

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.