Handelsbanken Fonder AB Has $34.16 Million Position in Fastenal Company $FAST

Handelsbanken Fonder AB cut its position in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 696,623 shares of the company’s stock after selling 35,645 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $34,162,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Fastenal in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 197.5% during the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Fastenal by 96.1% in the second quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the period. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 71.6% during the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 611 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the period. Finally, REAP Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Fastenal Price Performance

FAST opened at $46.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.85 and a quick ratio of 2.41. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $43.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.39. Fastenal Company has a 1 year low of $35.31 and a 1 year high of $50.63. The company has a market capitalization of $52.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.89.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.35% and a return on equity of 32.83%. The business had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.46 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 29th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 29th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is 87.27%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Fastenal from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Barclays set a $43.00 price target on Fastenal and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wolfe Research upped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fastenal presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fastenal news, Director Scott Satterlee sold 15,964 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.19, for a total value of $705,449.16. Following the transaction, the director owned 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,209,500. The trade was a 24.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Company 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.