Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA Has $457,000 Stake in Fastenal Company $FAST

Key Points

• Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA sharply reduced its Fastenal stake by 94.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 197,619 shares and leaving 11,397 shares valued at about $457,000.
• Fastenal reported solid quarterly results, meeting EPS expectations at $0.30 and slightly beating revenue estimates at $2.20 billion, with revenue up 12.4% year over year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share, payable May 26, which annualizes to $0.96 and yields about 2.2%.

Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA trimmed its stake in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 94.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,397 shares of the company's stock after selling 197,619 shares during the period. Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA's holdings in Fastenal were worth $457,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of FAST. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 106.1% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 15,431,393 shares of the company's stock worth $648,118,000 after purchasing an additional 7,943,217 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 151,515,539 shares of the company's stock worth $7,430,322,000 after purchasing an additional 2,346,045 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 14.0% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,215,875 shares of the company's stock worth $893,307,000 after purchasing an additional 2,242,116 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 90.7% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,590,292 shares of the company's stock worth $176,068,000 after purchasing an additional 1,707,396 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 112.1% during the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 2,771,861 shares of the company's stock worth $116,418,000 after purchasing an additional 1,464,781 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fastenal Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $43.30 on Tuesday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $45.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.63. Fastenal Company has a fifty-two week low of $38.97 and a fifty-two week high of $50.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 2.34.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 13th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.30. The business had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 period in the prior year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Fastenal Company will post 1.23 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 28th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 28th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 84.21%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on FAST shares. Raymond James Financial set a $48.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Wolfe Research cut their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $48.00 to $55.00 in a report on Monday, April 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $49.77.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fastenal news, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 36,920 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.34, for a total value of $1,747,792.80. Following the sale, the director directly owned 40,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,893,600. This trade represents a 48.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Fastenal 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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