Andra AP fonden Lowers Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Andra AP fonden lowered its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 11.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 303,900 shares of the company’s stock after selling 39,600 shares during the period. Andra AP fonden owned about 0.05% of Fastenal worth $19,097,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of FAST. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth about $405,513,000. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 497.3% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 3,099,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $239,083,000 after acquiring an additional 2,580,478 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal in the first quarter valued at approximately $195,459,000. TD Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 112.9% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,679,735 shares of the company’s stock worth $173,566,000 after purchasing an additional 1,420,763 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Fastenal by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,928,209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $513,510,000 after purchasing an additional 1,043,529 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Friday. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective (down previously from $85.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $56.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fastenal news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total transaction of $3,116,996.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,489,266.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Up 3.3 %

FAST stock opened at $68.09 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $66.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.62. The company has a market cap of $38.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Fastenal has a 52 week low of $53.83 and a 52 week high of $79.04.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 12th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 33.54%. The company had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th were issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.61%.

Fastenal 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.