Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Purchases 8,928 Shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 26.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,767 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,928 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in Fastenal were worth $3,317,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Horizon Financial Services LLC raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 5,330.0% in the 1st quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 543 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. grew its position in Fastenal by 481.9% during the 4th quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 611 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal during the 1st quarter valued at about $57,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Fastenal by 5,661.5% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 749 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 736 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Close Asset Management Ltd grew its position in Fastenal by 156.4% during the 1st quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd now owns 800 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Scott Satterlee sold 19,340 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.76, for a total value of $768,861.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 50,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,987,750. This trade represents a 27.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 21,052 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.21, for a total value of $951,760.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 10,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $460,780.32. This represents a 67.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 73,116 shares of company stock worth $3,069,670 over the last three months. 0.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on FAST. Wolfe Research reissued a "positive" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Stephens lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 price target on shares of Fastenal and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $45.64.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FAST traded down $0.19 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $46.41. 5,809,125 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,688,588. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.22 and a quick ratio of 2.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.26 billion, a PE ratio of 44.63, a P/E/G ratio of 4.27 and a beta of 0.96. Fastenal Company has a one year low of $32.04 and a one year high of $48.10. The company's 50 day moving average is $42.96 and its 200 day moving average is $40.03.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.07 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.33% and a net margin of 15.30%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.25 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 29th will be given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 29th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio is presently 84.62%.

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.