Forsta AP Fonden Cuts Position in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST)

Key Points

• Forsta AP Fonden has reduced its stock holdings in Fastenal Company by 13.6%, selling 28,500 shares and now owning 180,900 shares valued at approximately $14 million.
• Fastenal recently reported earnings per share of $0.29 for the quarter, slightly exceeding the consensus estimate of $0.28, with revenues of $2.08 billion, marking an 8.6% increase year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22, which reflects an annualized dividend yield of 1.8% and a payout ratio of 84.62%.

Forsta AP Fonden cut its stake in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 13.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 180,900 shares of the company's stock after selling 28,500 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden's holdings in Fastenal were worth $14,029,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 73,317,271 shares of the company's stock worth $5,685,754,000 after purchasing an additional 1,016,479 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 8.9% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,615,915 shares of the company's stock worth $1,753,864,000 after purchasing an additional 1,850,871 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,275,793 shares of the company's stock worth $595,112,000 after purchasing an additional 74,903 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,322,739 shares of the company's stock worth $526,578,000 after purchasing an additional 966,629 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Fastenal by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,018,546 shares of the company's stock worth $504,703,000 after acquiring an additional 116,866 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 21,052 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.21, for a total transaction of $951,760.92. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $460,780.32. This represents a 67.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 32,724 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.23, for a total value of $1,349,046.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FAST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 price objective on Fastenal and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price objective on Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Baird R W upgraded Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Wolfe Research reiterated a "positive" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded Fastenal from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $46.36.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of FAST traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $47.85. 4,899,930 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,201,144. The company has a quick ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 4.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.92 billion, a PE ratio of 46.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.37 and a beta of 0.95. Fastenal Company has a fifty-two week low of $32.04 and a fifty-two week high of $48.38. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.61.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.33% and a net margin of 15.30%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.25 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 29th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 29th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio is 84.62%.

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.