China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. Raises Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 28.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,323 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,060 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $670,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in Fastenal during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC raised its position in Fastenal by 1,019.0% during the 3rd quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in Fastenal during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 51.0% in the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 533 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,480 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.92, for a total value of $1,970,441.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson sold 8,474 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.36, for a total value of $706,392.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $883,199.20. This trade represents a 44.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 63,772 shares of company stock valued at $5,365,455 in the last 90 days. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of FAST opened at $73.24 on Friday. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $61.36 and a twelve month high of $84.88. The company has a market capitalization of $41.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $76.43 and a 200 day moving average of $73.72. 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 (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly 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). The business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.46 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on FAST. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group began coverage on Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 target price on the stock. Finally, HSBC cut Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Fastenal presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.