Wellington Wealth Strategies LLC. Buys Shares of 3,433 Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Wellington Wealth Strategies LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 3,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $265,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. MCF Advisors LLC raised its position in Fastenal by 2,172.2% during the 1st quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 409 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. boosted its stake in Fastenal by 46.9% during the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 479 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. bought a new stake in Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 283.2% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 755 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other news, EVP James C. Jansen sold 11,428 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total value of $732,191.96. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,677,096.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu acquired 500 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 3,500 shares in the company, valued at $221,480. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James C. Jansen sold 11,428 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,176 shares in the company, valued at $1,677,096.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on FAST. Loop Capital cut their price target on Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 15th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price target (down previously from $85.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. 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. Finally, HSBC upped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Fastenal has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $66.67.

Fastenal Trading Up 1.7 %

FAST stock traded up $1.20 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $70.26. The company had a trading volume of 1,680,239 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,702,740. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Fastenal has a 52 week low of $53.83 and a 52 week high of $79.04. The stock has a market cap of $40.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.76, a PEG ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 1.01. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $65.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.78.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 12th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.51. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.54% and a net margin of 15.54%. The company had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.91 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. Fastenal’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 25th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 77.61%.

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.