BankPlus Wealth Management LLC Invests $402,000 in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

BankPlus Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 5,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $402,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. King Luther Capital Management Corp raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.6% during the third quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 8,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $619,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Fastenal by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the company’s stock worth $545,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Fastenal by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $840,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 2,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the period. Finally, Compass Ion Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.5% in the third quarter. Compass Ion Advisors LLC now owns 9,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $709,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.9 %

FAST stock opened at $76.25 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.67 and a quick ratio of 2.28. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $61.36 and a 12 month high of $84.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.68 billion, a PE ratio of 37.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 1.02. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $77.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.52.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.02). Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1,842,560.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.46 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is presently 77.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fastenal news, Director Rita J. Heise sold 10,888 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.67, for a total transaction of $845,670.96. Following the transaction, the director now owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,553,400. This represents a 35.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,480 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.92, for a total value of $1,970,441.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 74,660 shares of company stock valued at $6,211,126 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on FAST shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price target for the company. Hsbc Global Res lowered Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, HSBC cut shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.91.

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.