Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA Makes New $10.25 Million Investment in Fastenal Company $FAST

Key Points

• Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA opened a new position in Fastenal, buying 209,016 shares in Q3 valued at about $10.25 million, and institutional investors now own 81.38% of the company's stock.
• Two directors executed sizable insider sales—Scott Satterlee sold 15,964 shares at an average of $44.19 and Reyne K. Wisecup sold 36,920 shares at $47.34—leaving insiders with just 0.28% ownership.
• Fastenal reported Q results with EPS of $0.26 (in line) and revenue of $2.03 billion (+11.1% YoY), and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.24 (annualized $0.96, 2.1% yield) with a payout ratio of 87.27%.

Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA bought a new position in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 209,016 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,249,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FAST. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its position in Fastenal by 2.4% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 6,276 shares of the company's stock worth $487,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the period. Sowell Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 5,308 shares of the company's stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the period. Rowlandmiller & PARTNERS.ADV grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Rowlandmiller & PARTNERS.ADV now owns 14,704 shares of the company's stock worth $721,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 71.6% during the third quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 611 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the period. Finally, Harfst & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 0.4% during the third quarter. Harfst & Associates Inc. now owns 63,720 shares of the company's stock worth $3,125,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Fastenal news, Director Scott Satterlee sold 15,964 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.19, for a total value of $705,449.16. Following the transaction, the director owned 50,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,209,500. The trade was a 24.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 36,920 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.34, for a total value of $1,747,792.80. Following the transaction, the director directly 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST opened at $46.30 on Wednesday. Fastenal Company has a 1 year low of $35.31 and a 1 year high of $50.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.85 and a quick ratio of 2.41. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $44.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.19.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.26. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.83% and a net margin of 15.35%.The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.46 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 29th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 29th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is an increase from Fastenal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio is currently 87.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research boosted their price target on Fastenal from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $46.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $52.00 target price on Fastenal and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Benchmark restated a "buy" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $48.83.

About Fastenal

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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