Flossbach Von Storch SE Cuts Stock Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Flossbach Von Storch SE lowered its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 56.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 234,507 shares of the company’s stock after selling 303,305 shares during the period. Flossbach Von Storch SE’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $16,863,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in FAST. Capital Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal during the 3rd quarter valued at $207,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Fastenal by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 33,689 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,406,000 after purchasing an additional 907 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 9,137 shares of the company’s stock worth $653,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. now owns 13,470 shares of the company’s stock worth $963,000 after buying an additional 1,529 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pictet North America Advisors SA boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Pictet North America Advisors SA now owns 75,590 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,399,000 after buying an additional 1,081 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on FAST shares. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Wolfe Research raised their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group started coverage on Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.91.

Fastenal Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of Fastenal stock opened at $75.57 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $43.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.60, a PEG ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $74.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $74.23. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 4.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $61.36 and a twelve month high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.46 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.57%.

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.