Barlow Wealth Partners Inc. Makes New $446,000 Investment in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Barlow Wealth Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 6,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $446,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of FAST. Essex Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in Fastenal by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 8,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $553,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. raised its position in Fastenal by 46.9% during the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Fastenal by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC now owns 7,212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $467,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Berkshire Bank raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 5,777 shares of the company’s stock valued at $316,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OmniStar Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,960 shares of the company’s stock valued at $873,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 19,420 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.25, for a total value of $1,364,255.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $417,285. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Fastenal news, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 19,420 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.25, for a total transaction of $1,364,255.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $417,285. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson bought 3,350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $68.38 per share, with a total value of $229,073.00. Following the purchase, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Performance

FAST stock traded down $0.33 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $66.41. 4,535,180 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,964,638. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $72.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $67.29. The company has a current ratio of 4.83, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a market capitalization of $38.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.07. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $52.86 and a twelve month high of $79.04.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.01). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.68% and a return on equity of 33.98%. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 25th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 24th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 77.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on FAST. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. HSBC increased their price target on Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Loop Capital cut their target price on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Fastenal has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.33.

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.