Fastenal Company $FAST Shares Bought by Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 1,039.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,337,722 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,132,593 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $94,253,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of FAST. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings 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 during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings 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 during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings 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 during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings 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 during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its holdings 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 during the period. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on FAST. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Raymond James Financial set a $48.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Wolfe Research lowered their price target on shares of Fastenal from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “underperform” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Five equities research 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 currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.77.

Fastenal Stock Up 1.0%

Fastenal stock opened at $43.77 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a current ratio of 4.39. Fastenal Company has a one year low of $38.97 and a one year high of $50.63.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 13th. The company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.30. The firm had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.19 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.39% and a return on equity of 33.25%. Fastenal’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fastenal news, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 36,920 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.34, for a total transaction of $1,747,792.80. Following the transaction, the director owned 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,893,600. This trade represents a 48.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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.