Norges Bank Acquires Shares of 7,266,831 Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Norges Bank acquired a new position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 7,266,831 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $522,558,000. Norges Bank owned 1.27% of Fastenal at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth about $46,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $68,000. Finally, Eastern Bank lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 440.7% in the fourth quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 802 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Price Performance

FAST stock opened at $76.17 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $75.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.89. Fastenal has a 12-month low of $61.36 and a 12-month high of $84.88. The company has a current ratio of 4.67, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a market capitalization of $43.68 billion, a PE ratio of 37.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The business’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.46 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on FAST. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wolfe Research raised their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, HSBC lowered 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.91.

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.