Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV Lowers Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV cut its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 8,900 shares of the company’s stock after selling 465 shares during the quarter. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $636,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Central Valley Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 528.4% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 1,019.0% in the third quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal in the second quarter valued at about $35,000. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fastenal Trading Up 7.0 %

Shares of FAST stock opened at $83.57 on Thursday. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $58.28 and a 1 year high of $83.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.40 and a quick ratio of 2.29. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $72.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $68.48. The company has a market cap of $47.88 billion, a PE ratio of 41.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 0.99.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.30% and a net margin of 15.44%. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 77.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on FAST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America started coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stephens increased their price target on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.33.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other news, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 680 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.86, for a total value of $52,944.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 680 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.86, for a total value of $52,944.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP John Lewis Soderberg sold 488 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.32, for a total value of $37,244.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 190,261 shares of company stock worth $13,874,979. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.