Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Makes New $832,000 Investment in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 12,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $832,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Howard Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,190,000 after acquiring an additional 489 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 132,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,528,000 after acquiring an additional 937 shares in the last quarter. Redmond Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Redmond Asset Management LLC now owns 55,983 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,026,000 after acquiring an additional 677 shares in the last quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 65,690 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,724,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Suncoast Equity Management boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Suncoast Equity Management now owns 13,110 shares of the company’s stock valued at $943,000 after acquiring an additional 1,285 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of FAST opened at $74.78 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 4.67, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market cap of $42.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.20, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a 50-day moving average of $74.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.49. Fastenal has a 12-month low of $61.36 and a 12-month high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced 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). The business had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The business’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.46 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 85.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on FAST. HSBC downgraded shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Wolfe Research raised their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.91.

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.