KBC Group NV Has $7.11 Million Stock Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

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

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 5.1% in the third 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 period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Fastenal by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,878,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,419,690,000 after purchasing an additional 608,596 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 5.6% in the 3rd 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 period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Fastenal by 5.0% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,572,999 shares of the company’s stock worth $350,703,000 after purchasing an additional 165,423 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on FAST. Bank of America started coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.91.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 31,818 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was 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 approximately $24,168,521. This trade represents a 10.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson sold 8,474 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.36, for a total value of $706,392.64. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at $883,199.20. This trade represents a 44.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 63,772 shares of company stock valued at $5,365,455 over the last ninety days. 0.41% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Fastenal Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of FAST stock opened at $74.98 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 4.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company 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 has a 12-month low of $61.36 and a 12-month high of $84.88. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $76.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.68.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.02). Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

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

About Fastenal

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.