Apollon Wealth Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Apollon Wealth Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 55.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,889 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,993 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $992,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Fastenal by 1.9% during the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the company’s stock worth $545,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 5.8% during the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 2,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,000 after buying an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Compass Ion Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.5% during the third quarter. Compass Ion Advisors LLC now owns 9,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $709,000 after buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 4.5% during the third quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,359 shares of the company’s stock worth $240,000 after buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.1% during the first quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 13,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,030,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,480 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.92, for a total transaction of $1,970,441.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP John Lewis Soderberg sold 488 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.32, for a total value of $37,244.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 254,033 shares of company stock worth $19,240,434. 0.41% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $81.85 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 4.40, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $59.47 and a twelve month high of $84.88. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $74.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.13. The stock has a market cap of $46.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.86, a P/E/G ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.99.

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

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $86.00 price objective (up from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Stephens upped their price target on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Fastenal currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.80.

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.