Toth Financial Advisory Corp Grows Holdings in Fastenal Company $FAST

Toth Financial Advisory Corp grew its stake in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 187,389 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 14,269 shares during the quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $9,000,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in FAST. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its position in Fastenal by 2.4% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 6,276 shares of the company’s stock valued at $487,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 12,356 shares of the company’s stock worth $573,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 68,495 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,749,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 12.9% during the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pure Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,161 shares of the company’s stock valued at $344,000 after buying an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fastenal news, Director Rita J. Heise sold 34,964 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.05, for a total transaction of $1,749,948.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,001,000. This represents a 63.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Ancius sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.00, for a total transaction of $147,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 58,690 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,875,810. This trade represents a 4.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on FAST shares. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $47.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $46.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Fastenal from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $55.00 target price on shares of Fastenal and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.17.

Fastenal Price Performance

FAST opened at $49.78 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 4.18 and a quick ratio of 2.21. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $48.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.50. The firm has a market cap of $57.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.19, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.72. Fastenal Company has a 1 year low of $38.97 and a 1 year high of $52.92.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.33. The firm had revenue of $2.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 34.03% and a net margin of 15.45%.The business’s revenue was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.29 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Fastenal Company will post 1.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 28th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 28th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 88.14%.

Fastenal Profile

Fastenal (NASDAQ: FAST) is a wholesale distributor of industrial and construction supplies, best known for its broad assortment of fasteners such as bolts, nuts, screws and anchors. Founded in Winona, Minnesota, Fastenal has grown from a regional supplier into a national and international distributor serving a wide range of end markets, including manufacturing, construction, maintenance, repair and operations (MRO), and government customers. The company is publicly traded and operates through a network of locally staffed branches combined with national distribution capabilities.

Product offerings extend beyond fasteners to include tools, safety and personal protective equipment, power transmission components, cutting and welding supplies, janitorial and material handling items, and other industrial consumables.