Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Stock Position Raised by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 24.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 385,919 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 74,956 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned about 0.07% of Fastenal worth $27,751,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of FAST. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $1,188,251,000 after purchasing an additional 880,372 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 3.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,878,045 shares of the company's stock worth $1,419,690,000 after purchasing an additional 608,596 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 1,789.1% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 535,723 shares of the company's stock worth $38,262,000 after buying an additional 507,364 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 59.3% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 928,377 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,305,000 after buying an additional 345,537 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of FAST traded down $0.36 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $74.78. 3,347,592 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,008,088. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $61.36 and a twelve month high of $84.88. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $74.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $74.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.67 and a quick ratio of 2.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 1.02.

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

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is a boost from Fastenal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. Fastenal's payout ratio is presently 85.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group assumed coverage on Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $88.00 price target on the stock. HSBC downgraded 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. Finally, Wolfe Research raised their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $76.91.

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.