Handelsbanken Fonder AB Grows Stock Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 24.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 385,919 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 74,956 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned approximately 0.07% of Fastenal worth $27,751,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Fastenal in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal during the third quarter valued at $36,000. MCF Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 54.1% in the third quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 635 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at about $68,000. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.6 %

FAST stock opened at $75.14 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.09 billion, a PE ratio of 37.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 1.02. Fastenal has a 52 week low of $61.36 and a 52 week high of $84.88. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $74.37 and a 200 day moving average of $74.23.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.46 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s payout ratio is presently 85.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FAST has been the topic of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Wolfe Research increased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. HSBC cut Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.