Achmea Investment Management B.V. Reduces Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Achmea Investment Management B.V. trimmed its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 40.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 161,321 shares of the company's stock after selling 111,545 shares during the period. Achmea Investment Management B.V.'s holdings in Fastenal were worth $11,601,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of FAST. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Fastenal in the fourth quarter worth $101,183,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in Fastenal by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,989,485 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,999,009,000 after acquiring an additional 1,346,863 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Fastenal by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 20,765,044 shares of the company's stock worth $1,493,214,000 after acquiring an additional 886,999 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 5.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,683,751 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,188,251,000 after purchasing an additional 880,372 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Donaldson Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,836,000. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Stock Performance

FAST stock traded up $0.81 on Monday, hitting $76.07. The company had a trading volume of 2,558,295 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,908,599. The company has a current ratio of 4.67, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Fastenal has a 12-month low of $61.36 and a 12-month high of $84.88. The stock has a market cap of $43.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $74.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.41.

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Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.84 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. This is a positive change from Fastenal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio is presently 85.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on FAST shares. Wolfe Research upped their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Hsbc Global Res cut Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. William Blair raised shares of Fastenal from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, HSBC lowered shares of Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $76.91.

About Fastenal

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.