Nordea Investment Management AB Cuts Stock Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Nordea Investment Management AB decreased its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 12.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,184,699 shares of the company’s stock after selling 162,883 shares during the quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $85,831,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. King Luther Capital Management Corp raised its holdings in Fastenal by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 8,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $619,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.9% in the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $545,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 2,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Compass Ion Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Compass Ion Advisors LLC now owns 9,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $709,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. Finally, Catalina Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in Fastenal by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,359 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FAST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. HSBC lowered Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group began coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price objective on the stock. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $77.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fastenal news, CAO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 13,567 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.19, for a total value of $1,033,669.73. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $388,264.24. This trade represents a 72.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP John Lewis Soderberg sold 488 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.32, for a total transaction of $37,244.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 158,289 shares of company stock worth $12,639,438 in the last 90 days. 0.41% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST opened at $72.31 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 4.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a market capitalization of $41.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.64 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $78.94 and a 200 day moving average of $72.49. Fastenal has a 52 week low of $61.33 and a 52 week high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.30% and a net margin of 15.44%. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th were given a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 25th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 77.61%.

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.