Cardinal Strategic Wealth Guidance Invests $295,000 in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Cardinal Strategic Wealth Guidance acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 4,097 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $295,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Fastenal during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. CVA Family Office LLC raised its stake in Fastenal by 51.0% in the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC raised its stake in Fastenal by 54.1% in the 3rd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 635 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FAST has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Wolfe Research increased their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price target for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Fastenal currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.91.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson sold 8,474 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.36, for a total transaction of $706,392.64. Following the sale, the director now owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $883,199.20. The trade was a 44.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST opened at $73.72 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $75.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.67 and a quick ratio of 2.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.68, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.02. Fastenal has a one year low of $61.36 and a one year high of $84.88.

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 net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.46 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.57%.

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.