Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Invests $7.50 Million in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST)

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 97,164 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,497,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 49,219 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,817,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 4,134 shares of the company's stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 32,992 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,559,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 15,886 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,142,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Salvus Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $698,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 32,724 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.23, for a total value of $1,349,046.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 21,052 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.21, for a total transaction of $951,760.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $460,780.32. This represents a 67.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 73,116 shares of company stock valued at $3,069,670 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.4%

Fastenal stock traded down $0.18 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $47.75. The stock had a trading volume of 5,507,497 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,903,187. The stock has a market cap of $54.80 billion, a PE ratio of 45.91, a PEG ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.96. Fastenal Company has a 52 week low of $32.04 and a 52 week high of $48.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.22 and a quick ratio of 2.12. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.88.

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

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 29th. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 84.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on FAST. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 target price on shares of Fastenal and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Stephens increased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Loop Capital reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $45.64.

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.