Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Increases Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 62.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,516 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,047 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $681,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FAST. Roundview Capital LLC increased its stake in Fastenal by 0.6% in the first quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 85,339 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,069,000 after purchasing an additional 479 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its holdings in Fastenal by 55.3% in the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 19,099 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,140,000 after buying an additional 6,797 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 18.1% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 239,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,218,000 after acquiring an additional 36,709 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 24.6% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 26,251 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,559,000 after acquiring an additional 5,190 shares during the period. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 9.0% in the first quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 9,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $566,000 after acquiring an additional 786 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 11,076 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total transaction of $832,472.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 11,076 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total value of $832,472.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 34,042 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.48, for a total transaction of $2,331,196.16. Following the transaction, the director now owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,369,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 105,682 shares of company stock worth $7,375,853 in the last three months. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Fastenal Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $69.39 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $39.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $73.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.08. The company has a current ratio of 4.83, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Fastenal has a 12-month low of $52.28 and a 12-month high of $79.04.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 25th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 24th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on FAST shares. Loop Capital dropped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Fastenal from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday. HSBC lifted their target price on Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.67.

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.