AMF Tjanstepension AB Grows Stock Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 79.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 343,047 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 152,390 shares during the quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $24,680,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cozad Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Fastenal during the third quarter worth about $202,000. Montecito Bank & Trust increased its stake in Fastenal by 103.6% during the third quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust now owns 10,360 shares of the company’s stock worth $740,000 after acquiring an additional 5,272 shares during the last quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc increased its stake in Fastenal by 2.5% during the third quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 51,631 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,687,000 after acquiring an additional 1,253 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal during the third quarter worth about $988,000. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Fastenal by 1.9% during the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the company’s stock worth $545,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fastenal Trading Up 2.7 %

Shares of FAST opened at $79.98 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $45.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.02. Fastenal has a one year low of $61.36 and a one year high of $84.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 4.67. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $74.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.94.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res lowered Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. HSBC lowered Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group started coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price target for the company. Wolfe Research increased their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Fastenal currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.91.

About Fastenal

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.