Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC Decreases Stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC reduced its holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 2.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,020 shares of the company’s stock after selling 382 shares during the period. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,082,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth about $405,513,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Fastenal during the first quarter worth about $195,459,000. TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Fastenal by 112.9% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,679,735 shares of the company’s stock worth $173,566,000 after purchasing an additional 1,420,763 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Fastenal by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,928,209 shares of the company’s stock worth $513,510,000 after purchasing an additional 1,043,529 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Fastenal by 46.2% during the first quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 3,185,855 shares of the company’s stock worth $245,757,000 after purchasing an additional 1,006,402 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on FAST. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Finally, HSBC boosted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $68.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other news, EVP James C. Jansen sold 11,428 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total value of $732,191.96. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,677,096.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Fastenal news, Director Daniel L. Johnson bought 3,350 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $68.38 per share, with a total value of $229,073.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $724,486.10. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP James C. Jansen sold 11,428 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total transaction of $732,191.96. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,677,096.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Fastenal Stock Performance

NASDAQ FAST traded down $0.49 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $62.84. The company had a trading volume of 5,921,891 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,313,607. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a current ratio of 4.83. Fastenal has a 1-year low of $53.83 and a 1-year high of $79.04. The company has a market cap of $35.98 billion, a PE ratio of 31.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a 50 day moving average of $65.84 and a 200-day moving average of $68.62.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.01). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.68% and a return on equity of 33.98%. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 25th were paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 24th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.48%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.23%.

Fastenal 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.