China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys 3,821 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 111.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 7,263 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,821 shares during the quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $519,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Central Valley Advisors LLC bought a new position in Fastenal during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the second quarter worth about $32,000. Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 528.4% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1,019.0% in 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. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the second quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Stephens raised their target price on shares of Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $86.00 target price (up from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.33.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In related news, CAO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 13,567 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.19, for a total transaction of $1,033,669.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,096 shares in the company, valued at approximately $388,264.24. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Fastenal news, CAO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 13,567 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.19, for a total value of $1,033,669.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,096 shares in the company, valued at $388,264.24. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider William Joseph Drazkowski sold 16,362 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.65, for a total value of $1,270,509.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,997 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $465,667.05. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 179,373 shares of company stock worth $13,029,308. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST opened at $77.61 on Wednesday. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $57.56 and a fifty-two week high of $79.04. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 4.40. The firm has a market cap of $44.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 1.01.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.30% and a net margin of 15.44%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.61%.

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.