Danske Bank A S Acquires New Stake in Fastenal Company $FAST

Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 726,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,872,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of FAST. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,105,454,000. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,734,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,196,502,000 after purchasing an additional 631,889 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 47,297,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,898,031,000 after buying an additional 919,158 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 37,699,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,508,216,000 after buying an additional 685,047 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Fastenal by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,215,875 shares of the company’s stock worth $893,307,000 after buying an additional 2,242,116 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Fastenal from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Fastenal from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $46.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fastenal currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.17.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $51.44 on Thursday. Fastenal Company has a 1 year low of $38.97 and a 1 year high of $52.92. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $47.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.28. The company has a market cap of $59.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.59, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 4.18 and a quick ratio of 2.21.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.33. Fastenal had a return on equity of 34.03% and a net margin of 15.45%.The firm had revenue of $2.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.29 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 1.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 28th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 88.14%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Michael J. Ancius sold 3,000 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.00, for a total value of $147,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 58,690 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,875,810. This trade represents a 4.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rita J. Heise sold 34,964 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.05, for a total transaction of $1,749,948.20. Following the sale, the director directly owned 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,001,000. The trade was a 63.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

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.