Flossbach Von Storch AG Acquires Shares of 50,648 Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Flossbach Von Storch AG acquired a new stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 50,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,280,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hartford Financial Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 46.9% during the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 479 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 131.7% during the second quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 600 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 184.9% during the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 678 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In related news, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 5,586 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.34, for a total transaction of $387,333.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Fastenal news, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 34,042 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.48, for a total value of $2,331,196.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,369,600. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 5,586 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.34, for a total transaction of $387,333.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 105,682 shares of company stock valued at $7,375,853. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Performance

FAST traded down $0.26 on Thursday, reaching $68.22. The company had a trading volume of 350,010 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,023,435. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a current ratio of 4.83. The stock has a market cap of $39.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.05. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $52.28 and a fifty-two week high of $79.04. The company’s fifty day moving average is $73.70 and its 200 day moving average is $66.20.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.01). Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.98% and a net margin of 15.68%. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.91 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 24th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on FAST. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. HSBC lifted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Loop Capital cut their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Fastenal from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fastenal presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.67.

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.