Fastenal Company $FAST Shares Acquired by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 70.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 415,463 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 171,295 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $20,374,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FAST. Sienna Gestion purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal during the third quarter worth about $4,721,000. LGT Group Foundation boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 1,119,012 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,399,000 after purchasing an additional 54,054 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in Fastenal by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,674,560 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,088,000 after buying an additional 115,082 shares during the last quarter. PFG Advisors increased its position in Fastenal by 7.7% during the third quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 5,354 shares of the company’s stock worth $263,000 after buying an additional 381 shares during the period. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Fastenal by 2.8% in the third quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 18,088 shares of the company’s stock valued at $887,000 after buying an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on FAST shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $46.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Wolfe Research increased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Barclays upped their price objective on Fastenal from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $52.00 target price on Fastenal and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $48.83.

Fastenal Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FAST traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $45.20. The stock had a trading volume of 1,109,376 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,781,445. Fastenal Company has a twelve month low of $35.31 and a twelve month high of $50.63. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $44.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.06, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a current ratio of 4.85.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.83% and a net margin of 15.35%.The business had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.46 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 29th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 29th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 87.27%.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In related news, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 36,920 shares of the business’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 sale, the director owned 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,893,600. The trade was a 48.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Scott Satterlee sold 15,964 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.19, for a total transaction 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Company 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.