Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Grows Stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC grew its holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 89.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,399 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,372 shares during the quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $738,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 47.3% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,691,506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $256,344,000 after purchasing an additional 1,505,936 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 16.5% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,745,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $368,563,000 after purchasing an additional 957,091 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 80.0% in the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,600,206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,435,000 after purchasing an additional 711,265 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,651,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $363,445,000 after purchasing an additional 568,372 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,830,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $751,780,000 after purchasing an additional 423,112 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Daniel L. Johnson acquired 3,350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $68.38 per share, with a total value of $229,073.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $724,486.10. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Fastenal news, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 5,586 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.34, for a total transaction of $387,333.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson purchased 3,350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $68.38 per share, with a total value of $229,073.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $724,486.10. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 36,082 shares of company stock valued at $2,584,060 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.5 %

Fastenal stock opened at $68.43 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $39.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.88, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $73.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.18. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $52.85 and a 12 month high of $79.04. 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 (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.01). Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.98% and a net margin of 15.68%. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The company 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 24th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 77.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. HSBC lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Fastenal from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their price objective on Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.67.

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.