Flossbach Von Storch SE Sells 303,305 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Flossbach Von Storch SE cut its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 56.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 234,507 shares of the company’s stock after selling 303,305 shares during the quarter. Flossbach Von Storch SE’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $16,863,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in FAST. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,989,485 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,999,009,000 after purchasing an additional 1,346,863 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,878,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,419,690,000 after purchasing an additional 608,596 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Fastenal by 5.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,683,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,188,251,000 after buying an additional 880,372 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Fastenal by 5.0% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,718,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $336,974,000 after buying an additional 226,126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Fastenal by 3.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,572,999 shares of the company’s stock worth $350,703,000 after buying an additional 165,423 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wolfe Research boosted their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. HSBC cut Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.91.

Fastenal Trading Up 1.0 %

FAST opened at $75.57 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.23. The firm has a market capitalization 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.67 and a quick ratio of 2.28. Fastenal has a one year low of $61.36 and a one year high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the company earned $0.46 EPS. Analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.28%. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.57%.

About Fastenal

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.