Annex Advisory Services LLC Increases Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Annex Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 5.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,537 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $398,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC grew its holdings in Fastenal by 1,019.0% during the third quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares during the period. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in Fastenal during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC grew its holdings in Fastenal by 51.0% during the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 533 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 31,818 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total transaction of $2,688,621.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,168,521. This trade represents a 10.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,480 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.92, for a total value of $1,970,441.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 74,660 shares of company stock worth $6,211,126. 0.41% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST opened at $76.08 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.40 and a quick ratio of 2.29. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $77.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.59 billion, a PE ratio of 37.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 1.02. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $61.36 and a 1 year high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.30% and a net margin of 15.44%. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1,842,560.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Stephens raised their target price on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Hsbc Global Res lowered Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered Fastenal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $86.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $77.27.

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.