LVW Advisors LLC Invests $378,000 in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

LVW Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 4,898 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $378,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FAST. Essex Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 8,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $553,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 0.8% in 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. lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 46.9% in 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. lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 0.9% in the fourth 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 during the period. Finally, Empirical Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC now owns 7,212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $467,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FAST has been the topic of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Fastenal from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. HSBC raised their price objective on Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Fastenal has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $68.80.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of FAST opened at $62.84 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $65.84 and its 200 day moving average is $68.65. The company has a market capitalization of $35.98 billion, a PE ratio of 31.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 1.01. Fastenal has a 12-month low of $53.83 and a 12-month high of $79.04. The company has a current ratio of 4.83, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.91 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.68% and a return on equity of 33.98%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.52 EPS. Research analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other news, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu purchased 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $63.28 per share, for a total transaction of $31,640.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $221,480. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Daniel L. Johnson bought 3,350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $68.38 per share, for a total transaction of $229,073.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at $724,486.10. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu bought 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $63.28 per share, with a total value of $31,640.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $221,480. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.