J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Raises Stock Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 2.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,870 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $872,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of FAST. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth about $405,513,000. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 497.3% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 3,099,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $239,083,000 after acquiring an additional 2,580,478 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 112.9% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,679,735 shares of the company’s stock valued at $173,566,000 after acquiring an additional 1,420,763 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,928,209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $513,510,000 after acquiring an additional 1,043,529 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 46.2% in the 1st quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 3,185,855 shares of the company’s stock valued at $245,757,000 after acquiring an additional 1,006,402 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fastenal news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.68, for a total transaction of $3,484,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,929,734.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total transaction of $3,116,996.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,489,266.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.68, for a total transaction of $3,484,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,929,734.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $56.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective (down previously from $85.00) on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 15th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.43.

Fastenal Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of FAST stock opened at $70.09 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 4.39. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $53.83 and a fifty-two week high of $79.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $67.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.50.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 12th. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.51. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 33.54%. The company had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.61%.

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.