Banco Santander S.A. Purchases New Position in Fastenal Company $FAST

Banco Santander S.A. acquired a new position in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 251,139 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,316,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Choreo LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 33,524 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,644,000 after purchasing an additional 2,514 shares in the last quarter. Advisor OS LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal in the 3rd quarter worth about $233,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Fastenal by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,489,806 shares of the company’s stock worth $122,100,000 after buying an additional 70,687 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Business Bank purchased a new position in Fastenal in the 3rd quarter worth about $667,000. Finally, AlphaCore Capital LLC lifted its stake in Fastenal by 58.0% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 8,323 shares of the company’s stock valued at $408,000 after acquiring an additional 3,056 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Scott Satterlee sold 15,964 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.19, for a total transaction of $705,449.16. Following the sale, the director directly owned 50,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,209,500. This trade represents a 24.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Fastenal Price Performance

NASDAQ FAST opened at $46.04 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $43.88 and its 200 day moving average is $44.39. Fastenal Company has a fifty-two week low of $35.31 and a fifty-two week high of $50.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a current ratio of 4.85. The company has a market capitalization of $52.87 billion, a PE ratio of 41.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.89.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.26. The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.04 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.83% and a net margin of 15.35%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.46 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 29th were given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 29th. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 87.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on FAST. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $52.00 target price on shares of Fastenal and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $46.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Fastenal from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Fastenal presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $48.27.

About Fastenal

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.