Bernicke Wealth Management Ltd. Purchases 26,022 Shares of Fastenal Company $FAST

Bernicke Wealth Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 26,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,289,000.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 2nd quarter worth $5,105,454,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 2nd quarter worth about $859,310,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 2nd quarter valued at about $410,919,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 2nd quarter valued at about $239,279,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 2nd quarter valued at about $230,169,000. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST opened at $55.19 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.32 billion, a PE ratio of 44.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.66. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.71. Fastenal Company has a 1 year low of $38.97 and a 1 year high of $56.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 3.93 and a quick ratio of 2.11.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 14th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.01. Fastenal had a return on equity of 35.13% and a net margin of 15.62%. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.29 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Fastenal Company will post 1.28 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 28th will be given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 28th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is 83.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FAST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 15th. DA Davidson set a $51.00 price objective on Fastenal and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $47.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Fastenal from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.46.

About Fastenal

Fastenal Company is a distributor of industrial and construction supplies, serving businesses that need products to maintain facilities, support production and complete building projects. Its offerings include fasteners such as screws, nuts and bolts, as well as safety supplies, tools and other maintenance, repair and operations products. In addition to product distribution, Fastenal provides services designed to help customers manage supplies and purchasing. These include inventory management, on-site support and industrial vending solutions that make frequently used items available at customer facilities.