Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Purchases 2,341 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 7.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 32,012 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,341 shares during the quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $2,302,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in FAST. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC grew its position in Fastenal by 1,019.0% in the 3rd quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares during the period. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in Fastenal in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC grew its position in Fastenal by 51.0% in the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 533 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fastenal news, Director Rita J. Heise sold 10,888 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.67, for a total value of $845,670.96. Following the sale, the director now owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,553,400. The trade was a 35.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,480 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 74,660 shares of company stock worth $6,211,126 in the last 90 days. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Fastenal Stock Up 1.8 %

FAST opened at $76.08 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 4.40. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $61.36 and a fifty-two week high of $84.88. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $77.92 and its 200 day moving average is $72.93. The stock has a market cap of $43.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 1.02.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1,842,560.16 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 33.30%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.46 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s payout ratio is presently 77.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FAST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price 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. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 target price for the company. Wolfe Research lifted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $77.27.

About Fastenal

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.