12,146 Shares in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Purchased by Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 12,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $832,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of FAST. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1,019.0% during the third quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 51.0% in the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $74.79 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $77.07 and its 200-day moving average is $73.61. The stock has a market cap of $42.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.21, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 1.02. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $61.36 and a twelve month high of $84.88. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.46 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fastenal news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,480 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson sold 8,474 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.36, for a total transaction of $706,392.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at $883,199.20. The trade was 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 worth $5,365,455 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Stephens raised their price target on shares of Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Fastenal currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.91.

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.