Archford Capital Strategies LLC Has $1.81 Million Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Archford Capital Strategies LLC raised its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,100 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,805,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.6% in the third quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 8,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $619,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.9% in the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the company’s stock worth $545,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $840,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 5.8% in the third 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 last quarter. Finally, Compass Ion Advisors LLC increased its stake 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 worth $709,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAST has been the topic of a number of research reports. HSBC downgraded 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. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.91.

Fastenal Price Performance

FAST opened at $75.53 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $77.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $73.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 4.67. Fastenal has a 52 week low of $61.36 and a 52 week high of $84.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.27 billion, a PE ratio of 37.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 1.02.

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

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This is a positive change 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 dividend yield of 2.28%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 85.57%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Rita J. Heise sold 10,888 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.67, for a total value of $845,670.96. Following the transaction, the director now owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,553,400. This represents a 35.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,480 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.92, for a total transaction of $1,970,441.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 74,660 shares of company stock valued at $6,211,126 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

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.