PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab Purchases Shares of 1,448,338 Fastenal Company $FAST

PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 1,448,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,194,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FAST. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Fastenal by 106.1% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 15,431,393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $648,118,000 after buying an additional 7,943,217 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Fastenal by 1.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 151,515,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,430,322,000 after buying an additional 2,346,045 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Fastenal by 14.0% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,215,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $893,307,000 after buying an additional 2,242,116 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Fastenal by 90.7% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,590,292 shares of the company’s stock valued at $176,068,000 after buying an additional 1,707,396 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its position in Fastenal by 112.1% during the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 2,771,861 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,418,000 after buying an additional 1,464,781 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $48.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $46.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.77.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of FAST stock opened at $44.91 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $51.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.75. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $45.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.56.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In related news, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 36,920 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.34, for a total value of $1,747,792.80. Following the sale, the director directly owned 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,893,600. This represents a 48.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.