Fastenal Company $FAST Shares Purchased by DNB Asset Management AS

DNB Asset Management AS increased its stake in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 85.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 636,802 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 294,175 shares during the period. DNB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $25,555,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of FAST. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Fastenal by 106.1% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 15,431,393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $648,118,000 after purchasing an additional 7,943,217 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Fastenal by 1.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 151,515,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,430,322,000 after purchasing an additional 2,346,045 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Fastenal by 14.0% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,215,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $893,307,000 after purchasing an additional 2,242,116 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its holdings in Fastenal by 1,039.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 2,337,722 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,253,000 after purchasing an additional 2,132,593 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Fastenal by 90.7% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,590,292 shares of the company’s stock valued at $176,068,000 after purchasing an additional 1,707,396 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on FAST. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a “positive” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Raymond James Financial set a $48.00 price target on Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $46.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.77.

Fastenal Trading Down 1.6%

FAST opened at $43.26 on Friday. Fastenal Company has a 12 month low of $38.97 and a 12 month high of $50.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.95, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 2.34. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $45.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.64.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 13th. The company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.30. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.25% and a net margin of 15.39%.The firm had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. Fastenal’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 28th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is presently 84.21%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 36,920 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.34, for a total transaction of $1,747,792.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,893,600. This represents a 48.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Profile

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.