Marks Group Wealth Management Inc Purchases 44,046 Shares of Fastenal Company $FAST

Key Points

• Marks Group Wealth Management Inc increased its holdings in Fastenal Company by 95.6%, acquiring an additional 44,046 shares and bringing total holdings to 90,118 shares valued at approximately $3.79 million.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Riverview Trust Co and Armstrong Advisory Group Inc., have also significantly raised their stakes in Fastenal, indicating strong market interest with institutional ownership now at 81.38%.
• Fastenal recently reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, with earnings per share of $0.29, surpassing the consensus estimate, and also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22.

Marks Group Wealth Management Inc grew its position in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 95.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 90,118 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 44,046 shares during the period. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc's holdings in Fastenal were worth $3,785,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Riverview Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 584 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 696 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 95.0% in the 2nd quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 702 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clean Yield Group lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 696 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 target price on Fastenal and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Northcoast Research started coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price target on Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $46.82.

Fastenal Price Performance

NASDAQ FAST opened at $47.88 on Monday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $48.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.04, a PEG ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.22 and a quick ratio of 2.12. Fastenal Company has a 1-year low of $34.69 and a 1-year high of $50.63.

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

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 29th were issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 29th. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 84.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fastenal news, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.05, for a total value of $2,341,188.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 11,880 shares in the company, valued at $570,834. This represents a 80.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total value of $333,000.14. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 11,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $583,747.98. The trade was a 36.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 111,230 shares of company stock valued at $5,288,364 in the last 90 days. 0.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Fastenal Company 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.

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