UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Reduces Holdings in Fastenal Company $FAST

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC reduced its position in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,686,470 shares of the company’s stock after selling 841,728 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned about 0.93% of Fastenal worth $513,271,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 57,152 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,745,000 after acquiring an additional 4,700 shares during the period. Toth Financial Advisory Corp boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 8.2% during the second quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 187,389 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,000,000 after buying an additional 14,269 shares during the period. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 8.8% in the second quarter. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. now owns 34,577 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,661,000 after buying an additional 2,806 shares in the last quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan now owns 903,647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,402,000 after buying an additional 57,030 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 35.0% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 4,795,323 shares of the company’s stock valued at $230,169,000 after buying an additional 1,243,583 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Michael J. Ancius sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.00, for a total value of $147,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 58,690 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,875,810. This trade represents a 4.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Rita J. Heise sold 34,964 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.05, for a total transaction of $1,749,948.20. Following the transaction, the director owned 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,001,000. The trade was a 63.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FAST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays lowered their target price on Fastenal from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $55.00 price target on shares of Fastenal and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.17.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $49.78 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $48.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 4.18 and a quick ratio of 2.21. Fastenal Company has a 1-year low of $38.97 and a 1-year high of $52.92. The company has a market cap of $57.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.72.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.33. Fastenal had a return on equity of 34.03% and a net margin of 15.45%.The business had revenue of $2.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.29 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Fastenal Company will post 1.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 28th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 28th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is presently 88.14%.

About Fastenal

Fastenal (NASDAQ: FAST) is a wholesale distributor of industrial and construction supplies, best known for its broad assortment of fasteners such as bolts, nuts, screws and anchors. Founded in Winona, Minnesota, Fastenal has grown from a regional supplier into a national and international distributor serving a wide range of end markets, including manufacturing, construction, maintenance, repair and operations (MRO), and government customers. The company is publicly traded and operates through a network of locally staffed branches combined with national distribution capabilities.

Product offerings extend beyond fasteners to include tools, safety and personal protective equipment, power transmission components, cutting and welding supplies, janitorial and material handling items, and other industrial consumables.