Swedbank AB Boosts Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Swedbank AB boosted its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 358,307 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,689 shares during the period. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $25,766,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. King Luther Capital Management Corp grew its position in Fastenal by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 8,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $619,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.9% during the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the company’s stock worth $545,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $840,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 5.8% during the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 2,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,000 after buying an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Compass Ion Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.5% during the third quarter. Compass Ion Advisors LLC now owns 9,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $709,000 after buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on FAST shares. UBS Group started coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.91.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $74.98 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 4.67, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market cap 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 twelve month low of $61.36 and a twelve month high of $84.88. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $76.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.68.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.82 billion for 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%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.46 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 31,818 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total transaction of $2,688,621.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,168,521. This represents a 10.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson sold 8,474 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.36, for a total value of $706,392.64. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at $883,199.20. This trade represents a 44.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 63,772 shares of company stock worth $5,365,455. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.