28,212 Fastenal Company $FAST Shares Acquired by Vise Technologies Inc.

Vise Technologies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 47.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 88,267 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 28,212 shares during the quarter. Vise Technologies Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $4,372,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the second quarter valued at about $5,105,454,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $859,310,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $410,919,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $239,279,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in Fastenal during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $230,169,000. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on FAST. Argus raised their target price on Fastenal from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Fastenal from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $55.00 price target on shares of Fastenal and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $47.00 price target (up from $42.00) on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $51.00 price target on shares of Fastenal and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.46.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.4%

FAST stock opened at $52.33 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $50.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.04 billion, a PE ratio of 42.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.66. Fastenal Company has a 12 month low of $38.97 and a 12 month high of $53.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 3.93 and a quick ratio of 2.11.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 14th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.44 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 35.13% and a net margin of 15.62%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.29 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 28th will be given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 28th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.87%.

Fastenal Company Profile

Fastenal Company is a distributor of industrial and construction supplies headquartered in Winona, Minnesota. Founded in 1967, the company primarily serves businesses that require products for manufacturing, construction, maintenance, repair and operations.

Its product range includes threaded fasteners, bolts, nuts, screws, industrial and safety supplies, tools, electrical and plumbing products, material-handling equipment, and other related items. Fastenal also provides inventory-management solutions, including automated vending machines, customer-specific inventory programs and onsite services designed to improve product availability and purchasing efficiency.

Fastenal serves customers through a network of locations and sales channels across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe and parts of Asia.