Principle Wealth Partners LLC Acquires 3,454 Shares of Fastenal Company $FAST

Principle Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 104.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,754 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,454 shares during the quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $284,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Riverview Trust Co boosted its stake in Fastenal by 100.0% during the 2nd 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 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 111.9% in the 2nd quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 642 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 696 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its holdings in Fastenal by 95.0% during the 2nd quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 target price on Fastenal and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 target price on Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, July 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fastenal news, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 11,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $583,747.98. The trade was a 36.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu bought 1,000 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 16th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $42.45 per share, for a total transaction of $42,450.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 9,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $382,050. This represents a 12.50% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 90,178 shares of company stock valued at $4,336,603. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Trading Up 0.9%

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $42.99 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $47.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.14. The company has a current ratio of 4.26, a quick ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.18, a PEG ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.94. Fastenal Company has a 1-year low of $35.31 and a 1-year high of $50.63.

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

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

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

Fastenal 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.