PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab Takes $59.19 Million Position in Fastenal Company $FAST

Key Points

• PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new position in Fastenal, acquiring 1,448,338 shares valued at about $59.19 million and now owns roughly 0.13% of the company.
• Fastenal reported quarterly revenue of $2.20 billion (up 12.4% year-over-year) and EPS of $0.30, which matched estimates but declined from $0.52 a year earlier; the company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.24 (annualized $0.96) for a ~2.1% yield.
• Analysts are mixed, with an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $49.77, while individual firms have issued buy, hold and sell ratings and several recently trimmed targets.

PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new position in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 1,448,338 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $59,194,000. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab owned approximately 0.13% of Fastenal as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. boosted its stake in Fastenal by 71.6% in the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 611 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Field & Main Bank purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. First Horizon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Financial Perspectives Inc increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 414.0% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 699 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 36,920 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.34, for a total transaction of $1,747,792.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 40,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,893,600. The trade was a 48.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Friday, March 27th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Raymond James Financial set a $48.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Wolfe Research dropped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Fastenal currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $49.77.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $44.91 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $51.56 billion, a PE ratio of 39.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.75. Fastenal Company has a 12 month low of $38.97 and a 12 month high of $50.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 2.34. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.56.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 13th. The company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.30. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.39% and a return on equity of 33.25%. The business had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 28th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Fastenal's payout ratio is currently 84.21%.

Fastenal Profile

Fastenal NASDAQ: FAST is a wholesale distributor of industrial and construction supplies, best known for its broad assortment of fasteners such as bolts, nuts, screws and anchors. Founded in Winona, Minnesota, Fastenal has grown from a regional supplier into a national and international distributor serving a wide range of end markets, including manufacturing, construction, maintenance, repair and operations (MRO), and government customers. The company is publicly traded and operates through a network of locally staffed branches combined with national distribution capabilities.

Product offerings extend beyond fasteners to include tools, safety and personal protective equipment, power transmission components, cutting and welding supplies, janitorial and material handling items, and other industrial consumables.

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