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

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 24.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 385,919 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 74,956 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $27,751,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FAST. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the third quarter worth about $27,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in Fastenal during the third quarter worth about $36,000. MCF Advisors LLC raised its position in Fastenal by 54.1% during 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 purchased a new position in Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $68,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on FAST. UBS Group initiated coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. HSBC cut shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wolfe Research increased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fastenal presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.91.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.6 %

FAST opened at $75.14 on Friday. The company has a market cap 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 twelve month low of $61.36 and a twelve month high of $84.88. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $74.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.23. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 4.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. Fastenal’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.46 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.57%.

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.