Advisory Alpha LLC Invests $232,000 in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Advisory Alpha LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 3,220 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $232,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,989,485 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,999,009,000 after buying an additional 1,346,863 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Fastenal by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,878,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,419,690,000 after purchasing an additional 608,596 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Fastenal by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,683,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,188,251,000 after purchasing an additional 880,372 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Fastenal by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,909,206 shares of the company’s stock worth $371,334,000 after purchasing an additional 193,734 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Fastenal by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,718,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $336,974,000 after purchasing an additional 226,126 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Fastenal stock opened at $75.46 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.23 billion, a PE ratio of 37.54, a P/E/G ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 1.02. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $61.36 and a twelve month high of $84.88. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $77.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.27. The company has a current ratio of 4.67, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1,842,560.16 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.46 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fastenal news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 31,818 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total value of $2,688,621.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,168,521. This trade represents a 10.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,480 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 74,660 shares of company stock valued at $6,211,126 in the last ninety days. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on FAST shares. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price 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. HSBC downgraded shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Two equities 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.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.91.

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.