Van ECK Associates Corp Boosts Position in Fastenal Company $FAST

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 70.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 415,463 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 171,295 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $20,374,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its holdings in Fastenal by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 6,276 shares of the company’s stock valued at $487,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 5,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Rowlandmiller & PARTNERS.ADV increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Rowlandmiller & PARTNERS.ADV now owns 14,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $721,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. lifted its stake in Fastenal by 71.6% in the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harfst & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in Fastenal by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Harfst & Associates Inc. now owns 63,720 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,125,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on FAST shares. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $46.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Barclays upped their price objective on Fastenal from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $52.00 price objective on Fastenal and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Wolfe Research boosted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, December 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.83.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of FAST stock traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $45.20. 1,109,376 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,781,445. The stock has a market cap of $51.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.06, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 4.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Fastenal Company has a fifty-two week low of $35.31 and a fifty-two week high of $50.63. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $44.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $44.21.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.26. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.83% and a net margin of 15.35%.The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.46 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 29th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 29th. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 87.27%.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In related news, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 36,920 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the director owned 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,893,600. This represents a 48.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Scott Satterlee sold 15,964 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.19, for a total transaction of $705,449.16. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 50,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,209,500. This represents a 24.20% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Fastenal 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.