Flossbach Von Storch SE Sells 70,869 Shares of Fastenal Company $FAST

Flossbach Von Storch SE decreased its stake in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 35.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 130,667 shares of the company’s stock after selling 70,869 shares during the period. Flossbach Von Storch SE’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $6,408,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $496,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its position in Fastenal by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 6,276 shares of the company’s stock valued at $487,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 76.6% in the 2nd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 12,979 shares of the company’s stock valued at $545,000 after buying an additional 5,631 shares during the period. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the second quarter worth $518,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 183.1% during the second quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 762,906 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,042,000 after acquiring an additional 493,395 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on FAST. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $46.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $52.00 price target on shares of Fastenal and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Barclays set a $43.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $53.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Scott Satterlee sold 15,964 shares of the firm’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 sale, the director owned 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,209,500. This trade represents a 24.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $49.58 per share, with a total value of $49,580.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $495,800. This trade represents a 11.11% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $43.62 on Thursday. 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 2.41 and a current ratio of 4.85. The stock has a market cap of $50.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.90. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $41.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.46.

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

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 29th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 29th. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is presently 80.00%.

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.