Erste Asset Management GmbH Buys Shares of 32,086 Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 32,086 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,343,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $75.26 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $43.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.44, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.67 and a quick ratio of 2.28. Fastenal has a 1-year low of $61.36 and a 1-year high of $84.88. The business has a 50-day moving average of $74.74 and a 200-day moving average of $75.24.

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

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Fastenal’s payout ratio is presently 85.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on FAST. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. William Blair raised shares of Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Wolfe Research boosted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, HSBC cut Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.91.

Fastenal 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.