Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC Has $877,000 Stake in Fastenal Company $FAST

Key Points

• Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its stake in Fastenal Company by 102.6% in Q2, bringing its total holdings to $877,000 after acquiring 10,573 additional shares.
• A number of hedge funds, including Vanguard Group Inc. and Charles Schwab Investment Management, have also raised their stakes in Fastenal, indicating strong institutional interest with 81.38% of the stock owned by institutional investors.
• Fastenal reported an EPS of $0.29 for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, along with a significant year-over-year revenue increase of 8.6%.

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 102.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,878 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 10,573 shares during the quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC's holdings in Fastenal were worth $877,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 73,317,271 shares of the company's stock worth $5,685,754,000 after purchasing an additional 1,016,479 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Fastenal by 8.9% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,615,915 shares of the company's stock worth $1,753,864,000 after buying an additional 1,850,871 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Fastenal by 1.7% in the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,418,765 shares of the company's stock worth $652,875,000 after acquiring an additional 142,972 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Fastenal by 2.6% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,591,850 shares of the company's stock valued at $511,198,000 after acquiring an additional 168,830 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 11.5% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 5,933,636 shares of the company's stock valued at $460,153,000 after acquiring an additional 613,254 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on FAST. Stephens raised their target price on Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Robert W. Baird raised Fastenal from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $55.00 in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Loop Capital restated a "hold" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 target price on shares of Fastenal and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $47.41.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST opened at $47.55 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 4.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market cap of $54.57 billion, a PE ratio of 45.72, a PEG ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 0.94. The company's fifty day moving average is $48.24 and its 200 day moving average is $43.76. Fastenal Company has a 52 week low of $34.69 and a 52 week high of $50.63.

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

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th were given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 29th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Fastenal's payout ratio is presently 84.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 21,052 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were 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. This trade represents a 67.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total transaction of $333,000.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $583,747.98. This represents a 36.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 111,230 shares of company stock worth $5,288,364. 0.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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