KBC Group NV Grows Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

KBC Group NV increased its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 11.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 98,825 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 10,239 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $7,107,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,989,485 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,999,009,000 after acquiring an additional 1,346,863 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 3.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,878,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,419,690,000 after purchasing an additional 608,596 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Fastenal by 5.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,683,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,188,251,000 after purchasing an additional 880,372 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 5.0% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,718,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $336,974,000 after purchasing an additional 226,126 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,572,999 shares of the company’s stock worth $350,703,000 after buying an additional 165,423 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 31,818 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total value of $2,688,621.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,168,521. This represents a 10.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson sold 8,474 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.36, for a total transaction of $706,392.64. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at $883,199.20. The trade was a 44.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 63,772 shares of company stock valued at $5,365,455 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. HSBC downgraded shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group started coverage on Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 target price for the company. Stephens raised their price target on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.91.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of FAST opened at $74.98 on Friday. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $76.78 and its 200-day moving average is $73.68. Fastenal has a 12-month low of $61.36 and a 12-month high of $84.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 1.02.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.46 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.61%.

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.