United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund Invests $618,000 in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 8,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $618,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Prospera Financial Services Inc increased its position in Fastenal by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 3,584 shares of the company’s stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 197,825 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,129,000 after purchasing an additional 21,771 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in Fastenal by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 354,618 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,327,000 after purchasing an additional 6,659 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Fastenal by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 4,407 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Fastenal in the third quarter worth about $310,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $77.09 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 4.67. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $75.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $75.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.21 billion, a PE ratio of 38.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $61.36 and a 52-week high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.46 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. William Blair raised shares of Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. HSBC lowered shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research increased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Fastenal has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.91.

Fastenal 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.