Forsta AP Fonden Increases Stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Forsta AP Fonden increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 206,200 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,100 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $14,727,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of FAST. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Fastenal by 497.3% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 3,099,333 shares of the company’s stock worth $239,083,000 after acquiring an additional 2,580,478 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in Fastenal by 4,008.2% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 756,241 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,522,000 after acquiring an additional 737,833 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Fastenal by 19.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,837,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,161,000 after acquiring an additional 636,546 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal during the second quarter worth about $37,659,000. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Fastenal by 21.2% during the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 3,248,853 shares of the company’s stock worth $250,617,000 after acquiring an additional 569,118 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on FAST shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Stephens upped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $86.00 target price (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price 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. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $73.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 680 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.86, for a total transaction of $52,944.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 13,567 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.19, for a total transaction of $1,033,669.73. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,096 shares in the company, valued at $388,264.24. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 680 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.86, for a total transaction of $52,944.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 179,373 shares of company stock worth $13,029,308. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of FAST stock opened at $75.85 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 4.40, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $57.01 and a 12 month high of $79.04. The stock has a market cap of $43.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.74, a P/E/G ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $70.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.04.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 33.30%. The business had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is presently 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.