KBC Group NV Has $8.25 Million Stock Position in Fastenal Company $FAST

KBC Group NV grew its position in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 96.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 196,446 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 96,686 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $8,251,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Patton Fund Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the second quarter valued at $229,000. Values First Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 183.0% during the 2nd quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 9,378 shares of the company’s stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 6,064 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,615,915 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,753,864,000 after purchasing an additional 1,850,871 shares in the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 181,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,074,000 after purchasing an additional 12,721 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS boosted its position in Fastenal by 3.9% in the first quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 195,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,180,000 after buying an additional 7,400 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FAST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Baird R W raised shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Fastenal in a report on Tuesday. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. Barclays dropped their price target on Fastenal from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Northcoast Research began coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Fastenal from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating and set a $43.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.32.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $49.58 per share, for a total transaction of $49,580.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $495,800. This represents a 11.11% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.7%

NASDAQ FAST opened at $40.45 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.92. Fastenal Company has a 52 week low of $35.31 and a 52 week high of $50.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.19 and a current ratio of 4.26. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $44.74 and a 200-day moving average of $44.38.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.34% and a return on equity of 32.69%. Fastenal’s revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.26 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 28th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 28th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 82.24%.

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.