Handelsbanken Fonder AB Sells 23,185 Shares of Fastenal Company $FAST

Handelsbanken Fonder AB cut its holdings in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 673,438 shares of the company’s stock after selling 23,185 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $27,025,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in FAST. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. REAP Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Field & Main Bank bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Tucker Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Tradewinds Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on FAST shares. Wolfe Research decreased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “underperform” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Raymond James Financial set a $48.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Friday, March 27th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.77.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.3%

FAST opened at $43.68 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.34, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market cap of $50.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.32, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.75. Fastenal Company has a twelve month low of $38.97 and a twelve month high of $50.63. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $45.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.70.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 13th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30. The firm had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.19 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.39% and a return on equity of 33.25%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 28th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 28th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is presently 84.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fastenal news, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 36,920 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.34, for a total value of $1,747,792.80. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 40,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,893,600. The trade was a 48.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Fastenal 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.