Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Buys 181,784 Shares of Fastenal Company $FAST

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund increased its stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 167.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 290,168 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 181,784 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $12,187,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of FAST. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Fastenal by 103.5% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,734,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $408,849,000 after buying an additional 4,950,503 shares in the last quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Fastenal by 94.4% in the second quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 9,298,033 shares of the company’s stock worth $390,517,000 after buying an additional 4,513,985 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL raised its stake in Fastenal by 107.2% in the second quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 6,822,973 shares of the company’s stock worth $286,565,000 after buying an additional 3,530,339 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Fastenal by 90.0% in the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 4,934,558 shares of the company’s stock worth $207,251,000 after buying an additional 2,337,187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fenimore Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Fastenal by 101.0% in the second quarter. Fenimore Asset Management Inc now owns 3,747,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $157,404,000 after buying an additional 1,883,419 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In related news, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total value of $333,000.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $583,747.98. This trade represents a 36.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 16th. The stock was bought at an average price of $42.45 per share, for a total transaction of $42,450.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 9,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $382,050. The trade was a 12.50% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 90,178 shares of company stock worth $4,336,603. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Trading Down 2.1%

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $41.63 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $46.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.35. Fastenal Company has a 52 week low of $35.31 and a 52 week high of $50.63. The company has a quick ratio of 2.19, a current ratio of 4.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market cap of $47.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.91, a PEG ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.94.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 13th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.01). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.34% and a return on equity of 32.69%. The firm had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.26 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 28th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on FAST. Stephens raised their target price on shares of Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Baird R W raised shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Barclays set a $45.00 target price on shares of Fastenal and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.50.

Fastenal 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.