Allworth Financial LP Buys 9,731 Shares of Fastenal Company $FAST

Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 139.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,697 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 9,731 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $701,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. Addison Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 139.2% during the 2nd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 830 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 483 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 62.3% during the second quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 459,968 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,319,000 after purchasing an additional 176,520 shares during the period. Davis R M Inc. grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 97.4% during the 2nd quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 7,572 shares of the company’s stock worth $318,000 after buying an additional 3,736 shares during the period. Compass Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Fastenal by 87.9% in the second quarter. Compass Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,525,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,074,000 after purchasing an additional 713,549 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 96.3% in the 2nd quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 42,557 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,787,000 after buying an additional 20,880 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on FAST shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Wolfe Research raised Fastenal from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating and set a $43.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on Fastenal in a report on Thursday, August 21st. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.32.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.7%

FAST opened at $40.45 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $44.74 and a 200-day moving average of $44.41. The company has a market capitalization of $46.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.92. Fastenal Company has a fifty-two week low of $35.31 and a fifty-two week high of $50.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.19 and a current ratio of 4.26.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.01). Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.69% and a net margin of 15.34%.The business had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.26 earnings per share. Fastenal’s revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 28th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 28th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is presently 82.24%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu purchased 1,000 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $49.58 per share, with a total value of $49,580.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $495,800. This represents a 11.11% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

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.