Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Decreases Stock Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ decreased its holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 20.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 170,571 shares of the company’s stock after selling 44,200 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $12,263,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of FAST opened at $75.26 on Friday. 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 1 year low of $61.36 and a 1 year high of $84.88. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $75.24. The firm has a market cap of $43.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.46 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FAST has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. William Blair upgraded Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. HSBC downgraded Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.91.

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.