AE Wealth Management LLC Has $3.37 Million Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 3.3% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 53,649 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,705 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $3,371,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at about $747,000. Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at $1,282,000. Clear Rock Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth about $2,936,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 98.6% in the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 118,301 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,126,000 after purchasing an additional 58,726 shares during the period. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at $1,078,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price target (down previously from $85.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $56.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.43.

Fastenal Price Performance

FAST stock opened at $70.75 on Monday. Fastenal has a 12-month low of $53.83 and a 12-month high of $79.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.20, a PEG ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $68.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.41.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 12th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 33.54%. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion for 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.61%.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,489,266.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $19,489,266.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.68, for a total value of $3,484,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at $19,929,734.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.