24,916 Shares in Fastenal Company $FAST Acquired by EP Wealth Advisors LLC

EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 24,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,197,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of FAST. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 6,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $487,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the period. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Fastenal by 1.8% during the first quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 12,356 shares of the company’s stock worth $573,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. Sittner & Nelson LLC boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 68,495 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,749,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 12.9% in the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Finally, L2 Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC now owns 5,389 shares of the company’s stock valued at $264,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other news, Director Michael J. Ancius sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.00, for a total transaction of $147,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 58,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,875,810. This represents a 4.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Rita J. Heise sold 34,964 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.05, for a total value of $1,749,948.20. Following the sale, the director directly owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,001,000. This trade represents a 63.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on FAST. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Fastenal from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $46.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.17.

Fastenal Stock Performance

NASDAQ FAST opened at $51.26 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a current ratio of 4.18. Fastenal Company has a one year low of $38.97 and a one year high of $52.92. The firm has a market cap of $58.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.44, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.72.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33. The company had revenue of $2.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.45% and a return on equity of 34.03%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.29 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 1.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 28th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 88.14%.

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.