Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Sells 44,200 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ cut its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 20.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 170,571 shares of the company's stock after selling 44,200 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ's holdings in Fastenal were worth $12,263,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of FAST. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the third quarter worth $27,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Wolfe Research boosted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. HSBC downgraded shares of Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, William Blair upgraded Fastenal from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $76.91.

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Fastenal Stock Down 0.0 %

Fastenal stock traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $76.06. 675,635 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,909,447. Fastenal has a 1-year low of $61.36 and a 1-year high of $84.88. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $74.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $75.41. The company has a current ratio of 4.67, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market cap of $43.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05.

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

Fastenal Increases Dividend

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

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.