4,826 Shares in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Acquired by Meridian Wealth Management LLC

Meridian Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 4,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $345,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal during the 3rd quarter worth $310,000. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. grew its position in Fastenal by 73.0% in the 3rd quarter. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. now owns 87,081 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,219,000 after buying an additional 36,742 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Fastenal by 499.7% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 132,046 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,186,000 after buying an additional 110,027 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Fastenal by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 210,998 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,259,000 after buying an additional 11,436 shares during the period. Finally, Peak Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,643,000. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $86.00 price objective (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Stephens raised their target price on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Fastenal currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.80.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Daniel L. Johnson sold 8,474 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.36, for a total transaction of $706,392.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at $883,199.20. The trade was a 44.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.68, for a total value of $3,484,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at $19,929,734.24. This represents a 14.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 208,289 shares of company stock worth $16,123,438 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Price Performance

NASDAQ FAST opened at $83.08 on Monday. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $59.47 and a 1 year high of $84.88. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $76.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.76. The company has a market cap of $47.60 billion, a PE ratio of 41.33, a PEG ratio of 4.83 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 4.40, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.30% and a net margin of 15.44%. Fastenal’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th were paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 25th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.