Bank of America Corp DE Has $755.97 Million Stock Position in Fastenal Company $FAST

Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 12.0% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 16,292,425 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,744,193 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $755,969,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in FAST. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth $646,046,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Fastenal by 243.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,095,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $485,380,000 after acquiring an additional 8,574,208 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,215,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $893,307,000 after acquiring an additional 2,242,116 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 1,039.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 2,337,722 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,253,000 after acquiring an additional 2,132,593 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 36.4% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 6,380,362 shares of the company’s stock worth $256,045,000 after purchasing an additional 1,701,380 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of FAST stock opened at $47.71 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 4.18, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a market cap of $54.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $45.57. Fastenal Company has a 1 year low of $38.97 and a 1 year high of $50.63.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33. The firm had revenue of $2.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 34.03% and a net margin of 15.45%.The company’s revenue was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.29 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Fastenal Company will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 28th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 88.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Fastenal from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Bank of America upped their price objective on Fastenal from $48.00 to $55.00 in a report on Monday, April 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Fastenal from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Fastenal from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Fastenal from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.83.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, Director Michael J. Ancius sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.00, for a total transaction of $147,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 58,690 shares in the company, valued at $2,875,810. This represents a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.