Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC Has $731,000 Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC raised its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 137.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,476 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,482 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $731,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of FAST. Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in Fastenal by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 8,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $553,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Fastenal by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 19,095 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,237,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. Hartford Financial Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 46.9% in the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 18,129 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,174,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC now owns 7,212 shares of the company’s stock worth $467,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other news, EVP James C. Jansen sold 11,428 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total transaction of $732,191.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,176 shares in the company, valued at $1,677,096.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP James C. Jansen sold 11,428 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total transaction of $732,191.96. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,176 shares in the company, valued at $1,677,096.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu bought 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $63.28 per share, for a total transaction of $31,640.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $221,480. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FAST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Loop Capital reduced their target price on Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 15th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, HSBC lifted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $68.80.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of FAST stock opened at $62.84 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.11, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 4.83, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $65.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.62. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $53.83 and a 12 month high of $79.04.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.01). Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.98% and a net margin of 15.68%. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 25th were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 24th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is presently 77.23%.

Fastenal Company 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.