Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Sells 12,056 Shares of Fastenal Company $FAST

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 326,127 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,056 shares during the quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $13,087,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Fastenal by 106.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 15,431,393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $648,118,000 after acquiring an additional 7,943,217 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 151,515,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,430,322,000 after purchasing an additional 2,346,045 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 14.0% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,215,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $893,307,000 after purchasing an additional 2,242,116 shares in the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1,039.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 2,337,722 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,253,000 after purchasing an additional 2,132,593 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 90.7% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,590,292 shares of the company’s stock worth $176,068,000 after buying an additional 1,707,396 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.3%

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $43.68 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $50.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.75. Fastenal Company has a twelve month low of $38.97 and a twelve month high of $50.63. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.70.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 13th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.30. The company had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.19 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.25% and a net margin of 15.39%.Fastenal’s revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 1.23 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 28th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 28th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 84.21%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 36,920 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.34, for a total transaction of $1,747,792.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,893,600. This represents a 48.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $48.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Monday, April 13th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $46.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.77.

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.