Ritholtz Wealth Management Lowers Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Ritholtz Wealth Management trimmed its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,762 shares of the company’s stock after selling 773 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,554,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in FAST. Central Valley Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 2,172.2% in the 1st quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 409 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Crewe Advisors LLC increased its position in Fastenal by 528.4% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC increased its position in Fastenal by 1,019.0% during the 3rd quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 target price (down from $85.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Fastenal in a report on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $72.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America began coverage on Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $68.89.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fastenal news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.68, for a total transaction of $3,484,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,929,734.24. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.68, for a total transaction of $3,484,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at $19,929,734.24. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total value of $3,116,996.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,489,266.52. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of Fastenal stock opened at $76.82 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.89. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $56.41 and a 12 month high of $79.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.22, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 2.29.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.52. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.54% and a net margin of 15.54%. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.61%.

About Fastenal

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.