Fastenal Company $FAST Shares Acquired by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

Key Points

• Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC significantly increased its stake in Fastenal Company by 134.6%, acquiring 490,867 additional shares during the second quarter.
• Fastenal reported revenues of $2.08 billion for the quarter, surpassing analyst expectations, and reported a net margin of 15.30% along with earnings per share of $0.29.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $0.88 and a dividend yield of 1.8%.

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 134.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 855,561 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 490,867 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Fastenal worth $36,900,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Garde Capital Inc. increased its holdings in Fastenal by 4,900.0% during the second quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 750 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 735 shares during the period. 1248 Management LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal during the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC increased its holdings 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 valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 533 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 1st quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 1st quarter worth $57,000. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In related news, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of the 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 sale, the insider owned 11,880 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $570,834. This trade represents a 80.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 21,052 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 10,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $460,780.32. The trade was a 67.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 111,230 shares of company stock worth $5,288,364 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 price objective on Fastenal and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Fastenal from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the company from $47.00 to $55.00 in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Northcoast Research started coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $46.82.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST traded up $0.36 during trading on Friday, reaching $47.58. The stock had a trading volume of 13,747,553 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,443,559. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a current ratio of 4.22. Fastenal Company has a 1-year low of $34.69 and a 1-year high of $50.63. The stock has a market cap of $54.60 billion, a PE ratio of 45.75, a PEG ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $47.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.93.

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

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 29th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 29th. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.