Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Sells 56,726 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp cut its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 974,348 shares of the company’s stock after selling 56,726 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned about 0.17% of Fastenal worth $70,070,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its holdings in Fastenal by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 3,584 shares of the company’s stock worth $256,000 after acquiring an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 12.4% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 197,825 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,129,000 after purchasing an additional 21,771 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.9% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 354,618 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,327,000 after purchasing an additional 6,659 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 7.0% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 4,407 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Fastenal in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $310,000. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on FAST shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Hsbc Global Res lowered Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. HSBC cut Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. William Blair raised shares of Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.91.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of FAST stock opened at $77.09 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 4.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Fastenal has a 12-month low of $61.36 and a 12-month high of $84.88. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $75.23 and a 200-day moving average of $75.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.46 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.57%.

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.