Fastenal Company $FAST Shares Acquired by Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC

Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 100.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,014 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,007 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $253,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Riverview Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 100.0% in the second quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 584 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the period. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 100.0% in the second quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 95.0% in the second quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the period. Finally, Clean Yield Group increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 100.0% in the second quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stephens increased their price objective on Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 target price on Fastenal and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Fastenal from $53.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fastenal news, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total transaction of $333,000.14. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 11,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $583,747.98. This represents a 36.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 16th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $42.45 per share, for a total transaction of $42,450.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 9,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $382,050. This represents a 12.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 90,178 shares of company stock worth $4,336,603. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of FAST stock opened at $42.99 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $49.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.94. The business’s 50 day moving average is $47.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.11. The company has a current ratio of 4.26, a quick ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Fastenal Company has a 12-month low of $35.31 and a 12-month high of $50.63.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 13th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.13 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.69% and a net margin of 15.34%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.26 EPS. Analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 28th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 28th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.24%.

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.