Apollon Wealth Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 16.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 16,115 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,226 shares during the quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,159,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of FAST. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its position in Fastenal by 10.1% in the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 4,986 shares of the company’s stock valued at $356,000 after buying an additional 456 shares during the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 269.6% in the 3rd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 4,007 shares of the company’s stock valued at $286,000 after acquiring an additional 2,923 shares during the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 7.8% in the third quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 16,858 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,204,000 after acquiring an additional 1,213 shares during the period. Annex Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 40.9% in the third quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,265 shares of the company’s stock worth $376,000 after acquiring an additional 1,529 shares during the period. Finally, Koshinski Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 8.5% during the third quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,256 shares of the company’s stock worth $375,000 after purchasing an additional 413 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fastenal Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $73.72 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 4.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.23 billion, a PE ratio of 36.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.02. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $61.36 and a fifty-two week high of $84.88. The company has a fifty day moving average of $75.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.98.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.46 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 85.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on FAST. UBS Group started coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price target on the stock. HSBC lowered Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Fastenal presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.91.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fastenal news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,480 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson sold 8,474 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.36, for a total value of $706,392.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $883,199.20. This trade represents a 44.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.