Flossbach Von Storch AG Buys New Stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Flossbach Von Storch AG purchased a new stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 50,648 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,280,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of FAST. Roundview Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 85,339 shares of the company's stock worth $5,069,000 after buying an additional 479 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 55.3% in the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 19,099 shares of the company's stock worth $1,140,000 after buying an additional 6,797 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 18.1% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 239,760 shares of the company's stock worth $14,218,000 after buying an additional 36,709 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 24.6% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 26,251 shares of the company's stock worth $1,559,000 after buying an additional 5,190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 9,534 shares of the company's stock worth $566,000 after buying an additional 786 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on FAST shares. HSBC lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Fastenal from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 12th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their target price on Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $67.67.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of Fastenal stock traded down $0.98 on Thursday, hitting $67.50. 3,583,476 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,068,358. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $73.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.20. Fastenal has a 1-year low of $52.28 and a 1-year high of $79.04. The company has a quick ratio of 2.49, a current ratio of 4.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.01). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.68% and a return on equity of 33.98%. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.52 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 25th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 24th. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio is presently 77.23%.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In related news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,590 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.25, for a total value of $1,633,607.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Fastenal news, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 19,420 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.25, for a total value of $1,364,255.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,940 shares of the company's stock, valued at $417,285. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,590 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.25, for a total value of $1,633,607.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 105,682 shares of company stock worth $7,375,853. Insiders own 0.41% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Company 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.