Forsta AP Fonden Boosts Stock Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Forsta AP Fonden grew its holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 209,400 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,200 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $15,058,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1,019.0% in the 3rd quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares during the period. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 51.0% in the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of FAST stock opened at $74.08 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $42.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.86, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.67 and a quick ratio of 2.28. Fastenal has a 1-year low of $61.36 and a 1-year high of $84.88. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $76.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.67.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced 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). Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.46 earnings per share. Fastenal’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 85.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on FAST. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. HSBC lowered shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.91.

Insider Activity

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

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.