Erste Asset Management GmbH Sells 127,322 Shares of Fastenal Company $FAST

Erste Asset Management GmbH trimmed its position in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 91.2% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 12,305 shares of the company’s stock after selling 127,322 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $601,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 2.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC lifted its position in Fastenal by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 5,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $260,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the period. Rowlandmiller & PARTNERS.ADV boosted its stake in Fastenal by 1.7% during the third quarter. Rowlandmiller & PARTNERS.ADV now owns 14,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $721,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. boosted its stake in Fastenal by 71.6% during the third quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 611 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harfst & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in Fastenal by 0.4% in the third quarter. Harfst & Associates Inc. now owns 63,720 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,125,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In related news, Director Scott Satterlee sold 15,964 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.19, for a total value of $705,449.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 50,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,209,500. This trade represents a 24.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on FAST. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $46.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $52.00 price target on Fastenal and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Wolfe Research boosted their target price on Fastenal from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.27.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of FAST opened at $46.04 on Monday. Fastenal Company has a twelve month low of $35.31 and a twelve month high of $50.63. The company has a market capitalization of $52.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.88. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $43.88 and a 200 day moving average of $44.33. The company has a quick ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 4.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

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

Fastenal Increases Dividend

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

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.