Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Position Raised by BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 216.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 26,843 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,361 shares during the quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,930,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Fastenal in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Fastenal in the fourth quarter worth approximately $68,000. Finally, Eastern Bank grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 440.7% in the 4th quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 984 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 802 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fastenal news, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.31, for a total transaction of $1,219,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,997 shares in the company, valued at $487,616.07. This represents a 71.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Fastenal Stock Down 1.6 %

FAST stock opened at $80.29 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $46.04 billion, a PE ratio of 39.95, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $61.36 and a 1 year high of $84.88. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $76.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $76.79.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The business had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 25th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is presently 87.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on FAST shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Stephens lifted their price target on Fastenal from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Fastenal from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Wolfe Research raised Fastenal from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, William Blair upgraded Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $79.10.

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.