Apollon Wealth Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 16.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,115 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,226 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,159,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vest Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 750,575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,974,000 after acquiring an additional 30,169 shares during the period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Fastenal by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 6,879 shares of the company’s stock valued at $495,000 after purchasing an additional 611 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its position in Fastenal by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 65,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,718,000 after purchasing an additional 6,789 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its position in Fastenal by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,422,616 shares of the company’s stock worth $102,300,000 after purchasing an additional 5,988 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Advocates Investment Management lifted its stake in Fastenal by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 3,678 shares of the company’s stock worth $265,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on FAST shares. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.91.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In related news, Director Daniel L. Johnson sold 8,474 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.36, for a total transaction of $706,392.64. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at $883,199.20. The trade was a 44.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,480 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.92, for a total value of $1,970,441.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Price Performance

NASDAQ FAST opened at $73.72 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $42.23 billion, a PE ratio of 36.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.02. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $75.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 4.67. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $61.36 and a 52-week high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the business posted $0.46 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.43 dividend. 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 2.33%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.57%.

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.