Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Has $11.12 Million Position in Fastenal Company $FAST

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. reduced its position in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 27.0% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 239,545 shares of the company’s stock after selling 88,718 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $11,115,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,387,472 shares of the company’s stock valued at $362,282,000 after purchasing an additional 90,095 shares in the last quarter. BlueStem Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal during the 3rd quarter worth $634,000. Wiregrass Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth $1,020,000. Stance Capital LLC boosted its position in Fastenal by 653.1% in the 3rd quarter. Stance Capital LLC now owns 54,976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,696,000 after buying an additional 47,676 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd boosted its position in Fastenal by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 1,491,994 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,874,000 after buying an additional 39,406 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FAST has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays set a $46.00 target price on Fastenal and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. DA Davidson initiated coverage on Fastenal in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $46.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Raymond James Financial set a $48.00 price objective on Fastenal in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.57.

Fastenal Price Performance

NASDAQ FAST opened at $47.10 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $44.62. Fastenal Company has a 52-week low of $38.97 and a 52-week high of $50.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a current ratio of 4.39. The stock has a market cap of $54.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.32, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.73.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 13th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30. The firm had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.39% and a return on equity of 33.25%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.52 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 28th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 28th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 84.21%.

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.