AMF Tjanstepension AB Sells 88,317 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

AMF Tjanstepension AB cut its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 31.7% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 190,657 shares of the company’s stock after selling 88,317 shares during the period. AMF Tjanstepension AB’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $14,724,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 101,713 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,588,000 after purchasing an additional 5,509 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new position in Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth about $747,000. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in Fastenal by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 900,171 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,304,000 after buying an additional 31,814 shares during the last quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV bought a new stake in Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,282,000. Finally, ICW Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 36,090 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,338,000 after buying an additional 694 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on FAST. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Fastenal from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, HSBC increased their target price on Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $68.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In related news, Director Daniel L. Johnson bought 3,350 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $68.38 per share, with a total value of $229,073.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at $724,486.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP James C. Jansen sold 11,428 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total transaction of $732,191.96. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,677,096.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson purchased 3,350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $68.38 per share, for a total transaction of $229,073.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $724,486.10. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.8 %

NASDAQ FAST opened at $62.84 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $35.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.02. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $53.83 and a twelve month high of $79.04. The company has a quick ratio of 2.49, a current ratio of 4.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The business’s fifty day moving average is $65.84 and its 200 day moving average is $68.59.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.91 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.68% and a return on equity of 33.98%. Fastenal’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 25th were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 24th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 77.23%.

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.