BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Cuts Stake in Fastenal Company $FAST

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S reduced its holdings in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 56.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 107,983 shares of the company’s stock after selling 142,208 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $4,333,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its stake in Fastenal by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 6,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $487,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. Sittner & Nelson LLC increased its stake in Fastenal by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 68,495 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,749,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the period. Founders Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Fastenal by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Founders Capital Management LLC now owns 10,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $418,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the period. L2 Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Fastenal by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC now owns 5,389 shares of the company’s stock worth $264,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Fastenal by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley reissued a “positive” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Wolfe Research dropped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.85.

Fastenal Stock Performance

NASDAQ FAST opened at $46.79 on Monday. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $45.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $44.03. The company has a market capitalization of $53.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.73. Fastenal Company has a 12 month low of $38.97 and a 12 month high of $50.63.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 13th. The company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30. The firm had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.39% and a return on equity of 33.25%. The company’s revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 28th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 28th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 84.21%.

Fastenal Company 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.