Barlow Wealth Partners Inc. Buys New Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Barlow Wealth Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 6,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $446,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of FAST. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Fastenal by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 101,713 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,588,000 after purchasing an additional 5,509 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in Fastenal by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 900,171 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,304,000 after acquiring an additional 31,814 shares in the last quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Fastenal by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 36,090 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,338,000 after acquiring an additional 694 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth about $13,204,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 178.1% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 78,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,054,000 after purchasing an additional 49,972 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Daniel L. Johnson purchased 3,350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $68.38 per share, with a total value of $229,073.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $724,486.10. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Daniel L. Johnson purchased 3,350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $68.38 per share, with a total value of $229,073.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $724,486.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Charles S. Miller sold 11,076 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total transaction of $832,472.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAST has been the topic of a number of research reports. 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 report on Monday, April 15th. HSBC boosted their price target on Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Fastenal from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Five equities research 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, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.33.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FAST traded down $0.33 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $66.41. The company had a trading volume of 4,535,180 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,964,638. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.07. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $52.86 and a twelve month high of $79.04. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.29. The company has a quick ratio of 2.49, a current ratio of 4.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.68% and a return on equity of 33.98%. Fastenal’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 25th will be given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 24th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.35%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.23%.

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.