LGT Group Foundation Acquires 42,586 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

LGT Group Foundation lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 706,774 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 42,586 shares during the quarter. LGT Group Foundation owned approximately 0.12% of Fastenal worth $50,824,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. DJE Kapital AG bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $19,356,000. Bellecapital International Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Bellecapital International Ltd. now owns 140,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,111,000 after acquiring an additional 7,297 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Fastenal in the fourth quarter worth $49,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in Fastenal by 62.7% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 49,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,563,000 after purchasing an additional 19,092 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norden Group LLC raised its holdings in Fastenal by 19.8% in the fourth quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 8,745 shares of the company’s stock worth $629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,444 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST opened at $75.73 on Monday. Fastenal has a 1-year low of $61.36 and a 1-year high of $84.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.67 and a quick ratio of 2.28. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $74.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $74.72. The company has a market capitalization of $43.43 billion, a PE ratio of 37.68, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.02.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.02). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.46 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on FAST shares. HSBC downgraded Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group started coverage on Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price objective for the company. Wolfe Research increased their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.91.

About Fastenal

Fastenal Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the wholesale distribution of industrial and construction supplies in the United States, Canada, Mexico, North America, and internationally. It offers fasteners, and related industrial and construction supplies under the Fastenal name. The company’s fastener products include threaded fasteners, bolts, nuts, screws, studs, and related washers that are used in manufactured products and construction projects, as well as in the maintenance and repair of machines.