Vontobel Holding Ltd. Buys 9,462 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 42.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,989 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,462 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $2,285,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at about $747,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 98.6% in the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 118,301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,126,000 after purchasing an additional 58,726 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 205.4% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 27,181 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,097,000 after purchasing an additional 18,281 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 499.7% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 132,046 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,186,000 after purchasing an additional 110,027 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,371,825 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,316,000 after purchasing an additional 91,754 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total value of $3,116,996.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,489,266.52. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Fastenal news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.68, for a total value of $3,484,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,929,734.24. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total transaction of $3,116,996.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,489,266.52. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 179,373 shares of company stock worth $13,029,308. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Fastenal Price Performance

FAST stock opened at $77.90 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $69.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $68.03. The stock has a market cap of $44.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.76, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 1.01. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $56.41 and a 1 year high of $79.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 2.29.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 33.54%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be given a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 25th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAST has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $86.00 price target (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.33.

Fastenal Company Profile

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.