Phoenix Wealth Advisors Reduces Stock Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Phoenix Wealth Advisors lowered its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 40,087 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,512 shares during the quarter. Fastenal makes up 1.8% of Phoenix Wealth Advisors’ portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Phoenix Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Fastenal were worth $2,548,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the fourth quarter worth about $268,570,000. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 37.8% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,092,207 shares of the company’s stock valued at $430,243,000 after purchasing an additional 2,492,722 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 47.3% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,691,506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $256,344,000 after purchasing an additional 1,505,936 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Fastenal by 16.5% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,745,302 shares of the company’s stock worth $368,563,000 after purchasing an additional 957,091 shares during the period. Finally, Select Equity Group L.P. raised its holdings in Fastenal by 60.2% in the first quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 2,481,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $133,869,000 after purchasing an additional 933,068 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 34,042 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.48, for a total value of $2,331,196.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,369,600. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Fastenal news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,590 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.25, for a total value of $1,633,607.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 34,042 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.48, for a total transaction of $2,331,196.16. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,369,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 105,682 shares of company stock valued at $7,375,853 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on FAST shares. HSBC upped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 12th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price target on Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.67.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ:FAST traded down $0.24 on Wednesday, reaching $68.55. 1,085,923 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,030,015. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $73.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.18. The company has a market capitalization of $39.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.65, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 1.05. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $52.28 and a 12 month high of $79.04. The company has a current ratio of 4.83, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.91 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.68% and a return on equity of 33.98%. Fastenal’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.52 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 24th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 77.23%.

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.