Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Acquires 877,566 Shares of Fastenal Company $FAST

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its stake in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 112.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,659,674 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 877,566 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned about 0.14% of Fastenal worth $69,706,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Patton Fund Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 2nd quarter valued at about $229,000. Values First Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 183.0% in the second quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 9,378 shares of the company’s stock worth $394,000 after buying an additional 6,064 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 8.9% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,615,915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,753,864,000 after purchasing an additional 1,850,871 shares in the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 181,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,074,000 after purchasing an additional 12,721 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 195,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,180,000 after purchasing an additional 7,400 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Fastenal Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $40.97 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.29, a PEG ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.19 and a current ratio of 4.26. Fastenal Company has a fifty-two week low of $35.31 and a fifty-two week high of $50.63. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $45.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.40.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 13th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.13 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.69% and a net margin of 15.34%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.26 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 28th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 28th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.24%.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu bought 1,000 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $42.45 per share, for a total transaction of $42,450.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 9,000 shares in the company, valued at $382,050. This represents a 12.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total transaction of $333,000.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 11,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $583,747.98. This trade represents a 36.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FAST has been the topic of several recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Tuesday. They set an “underperform” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. Barclays set a $45.00 target price on shares of Fastenal and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Baird R W raised shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Northcoast Research assumed coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.95.

Fastenal Company 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.