Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Purchased by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,011,037 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 47,641 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.18% of Fastenal worth $72,481,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of FAST. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the 4th quarter worth approximately $873,000. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at $1,756,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 3.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,572,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $350,703,000 after purchasing an additional 165,423 shares during the period. Czech National Bank increased its stake in Fastenal by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 124,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,932,000 after purchasing an additional 7,559 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. boosted its stake in Fastenal by 29.9% in the 4th quarter. Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. now owns 36,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,615,000 after buying an additional 8,380 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on FAST. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. William Blair upgraded shares of Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Wolfe Research upped their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.91.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Fastenal stock opened at $76.17 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 4.67. Fastenal has a one year low of $61.36 and a one year high of $84.88. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $75.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.68 billion, a PE ratio of 37.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.02). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.46 earnings per share. Fastenal’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Fastenal’s payout ratio is presently 85.57%.

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.