B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Sells 26,475 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG lowered its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 20.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 101,388 shares of the company’s stock after selling 26,475 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $7,285,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth $49,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 4th quarter worth $68,000. Finally, Eastern Bank raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 440.7% in the fourth quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of FAST stock opened at $77.55 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $75.38 and its 200 day moving average is $76.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.58, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $61.36 and a 12 month high of $84.88. 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 issued its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.46 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is 85.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAST has been the topic of several analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. William Blair raised Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Wolfe Research lifted their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.91.

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.