Van ECK Associates Corp Has $6.59 Million Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 101,713 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,509 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $6,588,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 3.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,830,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $751,780,000 after buying an additional 423,112 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in Fastenal by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,582,669 shares of the company’s stock worth $468,957,000 after purchasing an additional 337,168 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,444,498 shares of the company’s stock valued at $406,767,000 after purchasing an additional 413,572 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 16.5% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,745,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $368,563,000 after purchasing an additional 957,091 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 9.3% during the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,651,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $363,445,000 after buying an additional 568,372 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 15th. HSBC raised their target price on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.67.

Fastenal Price Performance

Fastenal stock opened at $68.43 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 4.83, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $73.21 and its 200-day moving average is $67.01. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $52.85 and a 12 month high of $79.04. The company has a market capitalization of $39.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.88, a PEG ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 1.07.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.01). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.68% and a return on equity of 33.98%. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.12 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 25th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 24th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fastenal news, Director Daniel L. Johnson acquired 3,350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $68.38 per share, for a total transaction of $229,073.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $724,486.10. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Fastenal news, Director Daniel L. Johnson acquired 3,350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $68.38 per share, for a total transaction of $229,073.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $724,486.10. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 5,586 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was 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. Insiders sold 36,082 shares of company stock worth $2,584,060 in the last quarter. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.