Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC Has $731,000 Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 137.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,476 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,482 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $731,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Essex Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 8,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $553,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Fastenal by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 19,095 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,237,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. Hartford Financial Management Inc. increased its stake in Fastenal by 46.9% during the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc. raised its holdings in Fastenal by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 18,129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,174,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC now owns 7,212 shares of the company’s stock worth $467,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on FAST shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, HSBC raised their price target on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $68.80.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, Director Daniel L. Johnson purchased 3,350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $68.38 per share, with a total value of $229,073.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $724,486.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Daniel L. Johnson purchased 3,350 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $68.38 per share, with a total value of $229,073.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $724,486.10. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP James C. Jansen sold 11,428 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total value of $732,191.96. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,176 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,677,096.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.8 %

FAST opened at $62.84 on Friday. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $53.83 and a twelve month high of $79.04. The firm has a market cap of $35.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.11, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.02. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $65.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a current ratio of 4.83.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.98% and a net margin of 15.68%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 25th were paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 24th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.23%.

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.