Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Bought by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 200,751 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,481 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $14,436,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of FAST. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Fastenal during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in Fastenal during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fastenal Price Performance

FAST stock opened at $75.99 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $43.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.81, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $61.36 and a twelve month high of $84.88. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $75.20. The company has a current ratio of 4.67, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

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

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is 85.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on FAST. William Blair raised shares of Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Wolfe Research lifted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, HSBC lowered shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.91.

Fastenal Company 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.