Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Buys 52,654 Shares of Fastenal Company $FAST

Key Points

• Banque Cantonale Vaudoise increased its Fastenal stake by 218.2% in the fourth quarter, buying 52,654 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 76,782 shares worth about $3.08 million.
• Other institutional investors also made notable moves, and institutions now own 81.38% of Fastenal’s stock, highlighting strong professional ownership in the company.
• Fastenal recently reported quarterly EPS of $0.30, matching estimates, while revenue came in slightly above expectations at $2.20 billion; the company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share, yielding about 2.2%.

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 218.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 76,782 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 52,654 shares during the quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise's holdings in Fastenal were worth $3,081,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 106.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 15,431,393 shares of the company's stock valued at $648,118,000 after purchasing an additional 7,943,217 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 151,515,539 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,430,322,000 after purchasing an additional 2,346,045 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,215,875 shares of the company's stock valued at $893,307,000 after purchasing an additional 2,242,116 shares in the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1,039.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 2,337,722 shares of the company's stock valued at $94,253,000 after purchasing an additional 2,132,593 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 90.7% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,590,292 shares of the company's stock valued at $176,068,000 after purchasing an additional 1,707,396 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on FAST. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Friday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley restated a "positive" rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $46.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $49.77.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fastenal news, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 36,920 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.34, for a total transaction of $1,747,792.80. Following the sale, the director owned 40,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,893,600. The trade was a 48.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Trading Up 0.3%

NASDAQ FAST opened at $43.68 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.34, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a market cap of $50.15 billion, a PE ratio of 38.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $45.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.70. Fastenal Company has a 52 week low of $38.97 and a 52 week high of $50.63.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 13th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.30. The company had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.39% and a return on equity of 33.25%. Fastenal's revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Fastenal Company will post 1.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 28th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 28th. Fastenal's payout ratio is currently 84.21%.

Fastenal Company Profile

Fastenal NASDAQ: FAST is a wholesale distributor of industrial and construction supplies, best known for its broad assortment of fasteners such as bolts, nuts, screws and anchors. Founded in Winona, Minnesota, Fastenal has grown from a regional supplier into a national and international distributor serving a wide range of end markets, including manufacturing, construction, maintenance, repair and operations (MRO), and government customers. The company is publicly traded and operates through a network of locally staffed branches combined with national distribution capabilities.

Product offerings extend beyond fasteners to include tools, safety and personal protective equipment, power transmission components, cutting and welding supplies, janitorial and material handling items, and other industrial consumables.

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