Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Has $11.06 Million Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund trimmed its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 11.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 153,784 shares of the company’s stock after selling 19,800 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $11,059,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Fastenal by 5.1% in the third 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 last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,878,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,419,690,000 after purchasing an additional 608,596 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 5.6% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 5.0% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,718,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $336,974,000 after purchasing an additional 226,126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Fastenal by 3.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,572,999 shares of the company’s stock worth $350,703,000 after buying an additional 165,423 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FAST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wolfe Research increased their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. HSBC lowered shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fastenal currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.91.

Fastenal Price Performance

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $74.78 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.67 and a quick ratio of 2.28. Fastenal has a one year low of $61.36 and a one year high of $84.88. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $74.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.43. The stock has a market cap of $42.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.20, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.02.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. 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.