Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Invests $2.37 Million in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST)

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 30,599 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,373,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 8,541.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,694,235 shares of the company's stock valued at $131,388,000 after purchasing an additional 1,674,628 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 100.8% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,081,620 shares of the company's stock valued at $221,600,000 after purchasing an additional 1,547,319 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 301.9% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,478,233 shares of the company's stock valued at $106,300,000 after purchasing an additional 1,110,445 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,322,739 shares of the company's stock valued at $526,578,000 after purchasing an additional 966,629 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,320,382 shares of the company's stock valued at $382,589,000 after purchasing an additional 602,182 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on FAST shares. Stephens lifted their price target on Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Fastenal from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Fastenal from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Wolfe Research restated a "positive" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price target on Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $45.64.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FAST traded down $0.19 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $46.41. The company had a trading volume of 5,809,125 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,651,881. Fastenal Company has a twelve month low of $32.04 and a twelve month high of $48.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.26 billion, a PE ratio of 44.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.26 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $42.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.03. The company has a current ratio of 4.22, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.01. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.33% and a net margin of 15.30%. The company had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.25 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 29th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 29th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. Fastenal's payout ratio is currently 84.62%.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In related news, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 32,724 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.23, for a total value of $1,349,046.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Scott Satterlee sold 19,340 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.76, for a total value of $768,861.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 50,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,987,750. The trade was a 27.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 73,116 shares of company stock worth $3,069,670. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.