Advisory Alpha LLC Makes New Investment in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Advisory Alpha LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,220 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $232,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in Fastenal during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC lifted its position in Fastenal by 1,019.0% during the third quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares during the period. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in Fastenal during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC raised its position in Fastenal by 51.0% in the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 533 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,480 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.92, for a total transaction of $1,970,441.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson sold 8,474 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.36, for a total transaction of $706,392.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $883,199.20. This represents a 44.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 74,660 shares of company stock valued at $6,211,126. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST opened at $75.46 on Friday. Fastenal has a 52 week low of $61.36 and a 52 week high of $84.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.54, a PEG ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $77.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $73.27. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 4.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1,842,560.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.46 earnings per share. Fastenal’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 77.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAST has been the topic of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Stephens increased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Wolfe Research increased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Fastenal has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.