Absher Wealth Management LLC Has $27.11 Million Stock Holdings in Fastenal Company $FAST

Key Points

• Absher Wealth Management raised its stake in Fastenal by 26.5% in Q4 to 675,612 shares (about $27.11 million), making Fastenal its 19th-largest position and 3.2% of the fund.
• Fastenal reported Q results with EPS $0.30 (in line with estimates) and revenue of $2.20 billion, up 12.4% year-over-year, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share (2.1% yield; ex-dividend Apr 28).

Absher Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 26.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 675,612 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 141,354 shares during the period. Fastenal makes up 3.2% of Absher Wealth Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. Absher Wealth Management LLC owned 0.06% of Fastenal worth $27,112,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Fastenal by 106.1% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 15,431,393 shares of the company's stock valued at $648,118,000 after purchasing an additional 7,943,217 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 1.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 151,515,539 shares of the company's stock worth $7,430,322,000 after buying an additional 2,346,045 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,215,875 shares of the company's stock worth $893,307,000 after buying an additional 2,242,116 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 90.7% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,590,292 shares of the company's stock worth $176,068,000 after buying an additional 1,707,396 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 112.1% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 2,771,861 shares of the company's stock valued at $116,418,000 after acquiring an additional 1,464,781 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other news, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 36,920 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.34, for a total value of $1,747,792.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 40,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,893,600. This trade represents a 48.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on FAST shares. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $46.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Friday, March 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "underperform" rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $49.77.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of Fastenal stock opened at $45.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 2.34. The firm has a market cap of $52.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.84. The stock's 50-day moving average is $45.84 and its 200-day moving average is $43.64. Fastenal Company has a one year low of $38.97 and a one year high of $50.63.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 13th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.30. The business had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.25% and a net margin of 15.39%.Fastenal's quarterly revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Fastenal Company will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 28th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 28th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Fastenal's payout ratio is 84.21%.

Fastenal Profile

Fastenal NASDAQ: FAST is a wholesale distributor of industrial and construction supplies, best known for its broad assortment of fasteners such as bolts, nuts, screws and anchors. Founded in Winona, Minnesota, Fastenal has grown from a regional supplier into a national and international distributor serving a wide range of end markets, including manufacturing, construction, maintenance, repair and operations (MRO), and government customers. The company is publicly traded and operates through a network of locally staffed branches combined with national distribution capabilities.

Product offerings extend beyond fasteners to include tools, safety and personal protective equipment, power transmission components, cutting and welding supplies, janitorial and material handling items, and other industrial consumables.

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