Norges Bank Makes New Investment in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 7,266,831 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $522,558,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.27% of Fastenal as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of FAST. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Fastenal by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,674 shares of the company's stock valued at $840,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,985 shares of the company's stock valued at $215,000 after buying an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 7,008 shares of the company's stock valued at $504,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,038 shares of the company's stock worth $147,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Resonant Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 14,270 shares of the company's stock worth $1,026,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Fastenal Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST traded up $1.38 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $77.55. 4,356,166 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,064,845. The company has a market capitalization of $44.47 billion, a PE ratio of 38.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $61.36 and a 52-week high of $84.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 4.67. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $75.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $75.98.

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

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This is a positive change from Fastenal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. 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 report on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. 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. Finally, William Blair raised shares of Fastenal from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fastenal 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.