DnB Asset Management AS Has $16.23 Million Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

DnB Asset Management AS boosted its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 225,728 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,457 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $16,232,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at $522,558,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth about $101,183,000. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 5.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,989,485 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,999,009,000 after buying an additional 1,346,863 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Fastenal by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 20,765,044 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,493,214,000 after buying an additional 886,999 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Fastenal by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,683,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,188,251,000 after acquiring an additional 880,372 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of Fastenal stock opened at $76.17 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.67 and a quick ratio of 2.28. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $61.36 and a 1 year high of $84.88. The firm has a market cap of $43.68 billion, a PE ratio of 37.90, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $75.89.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.46 EPS. Analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. William Blair upgraded Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.91.

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.