Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Fastenal Company $FAST

Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC grew its position in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 98.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 71,384 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 35,389 shares during the quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $2,998,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Riverview Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 100.0% in the second quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 584 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the period. Hilltop National Bank bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 111.9% during the 2nd quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. increased its stake in Fastenal by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 696 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its stake in Fastenal by 95.0% during the second quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on FAST shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Baird R W upgraded Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Wolfe Research raised Fastenal from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating and set a $43.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Northcoast Research started coverage on Fastenal in a report on Thursday, August 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $38.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.32.

Insider Activity

In other Fastenal news, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu bought 1,000 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $49.58 per share, with a total value of $49,580.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $495,800. This represents a 11.11% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Sarah N. Nielsen purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $39.60 per share, for a total transaction of $39,600.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 5,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $198,000. The trade was a 25.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders purchased 3,000 shares of company stock valued at $131,630. 0.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of FAST stock opened at $41.75 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $42.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $44.37. Fastenal Company has a one year low of $35.31 and a one year high of $50.63. The company has a market capitalization of $47.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.02, a P/E/G ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.26 and a quick ratio of 2.19.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its 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 firm had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.26 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 28th were issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 28th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is presently 82.24%.

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.