Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC Takes $362,000 Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 5,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $362,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. MCF Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 2,172.2% in the 1st quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 409 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the 1st quarter valued at $39,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal during the second quarter worth $32,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, EVP James C. Jansen sold 11,428 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total transaction of $732,191.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,677,096.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu bought 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $63.28 per share, with a total value of $31,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,500 shares in the company, valued at $221,480. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 stock was sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total value of $732,191.96. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,176 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,677,096.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on FAST shares. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price target (down from $85.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Fastenal from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $56.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $66.67.

Fastenal Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST traded up $1.25 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $68.15. 1,579,436 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,581,028. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $66.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $68.88. Fastenal has a 52 week low of $53.83 and a 52 week high of $79.04. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a market cap of $39.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 1.01.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 12th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.51. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 33.54%. The company had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 26th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.61%.

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.