Fastenal Company $FAST Stock Position Decreased by Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lessened its holdings in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 8.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 290,035 shares of the company’s stock after selling 27,200 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $11,639,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of FAST. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. REAP Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Field & Main Bank bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Tucker Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Tradewinds Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on FAST shares. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Fastenal from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Fastenal from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley restated a “positive” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered their price objective on Fastenal from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.85.

Fastenal Price Performance

NASDAQ FAST opened at $46.79 on Friday. Fastenal Company has a 52 week low of $38.97 and a 52 week high of $50.63. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market cap of $53.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $45.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.00.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted 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 net margin of 15.39% and a return on equity of 33.25%. The firm had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. Fastenal’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Fastenal Company will post 1.24 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 28th were paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 28th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 84.21%.

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.