Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Position Increased by Toth Financial Advisory Corp

Toth Financial Advisory Corp increased its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 73,593 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,337 shares during the quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $5,292,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the third quarter valued at $310,000. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. lifted its position in Fastenal by 73.0% in the 3rd quarter. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. now owns 87,081 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,219,000 after purchasing an additional 36,742 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in Fastenal by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 369,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,373,000 after purchasing an additional 6,488 shares during the period. Matrix Trust Co bought a new position in Fastenal in the 4th quarter worth about $1,756,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 3.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,572,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $350,703,000 after purchasing an additional 165,423 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FAST has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America assumed coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Stephens increased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.91.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of Fastenal stock opened at $75.53 on Friday. Fastenal has a 52 week low of $61.36 and a 52 week high of $84.88. The company has a current ratio of 4.67, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $77.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.38. The stock has a market cap of $43.27 billion, a PE ratio of 37.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 1.02.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1,842,560.16 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.46 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Daniel L. Johnson sold 8,474 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.36, for a total value of $706,392.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $883,199.20. This represents a 44.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Rita J. Heise sold 10,888 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.67, for a total transaction of $845,670.96. Following the transaction, the director now owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,553,400. The trade was a 35.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 74,660 shares of company stock worth $6,211,126 in the last three months. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.