Financial Advocates Investment Management Has $659,000 Stock Position in Fastenal Company $FAST

Financial Advocates Investment Management increased its stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 323.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,692 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 11,986 shares during the quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $659,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Fastenal by 103.5% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 149,169,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,265,119,000 after acquiring an additional 75,852,223 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Fastenal by 103.4% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 45,995,937 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,931,830,000 after purchasing an additional 23,380,022 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Fastenal by 103.8% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,984,281 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,506,141,000 after purchasing an additional 18,329,847 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 87.9% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 34,851,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,463,743,000 after purchasing an additional 16,308,254 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 103.5% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,734,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $408,849,000 after purchasing an additional 4,950,503 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.5%

NASDAQ FAST opened at $40.30 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 4.26, a quick ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Fastenal Company has a 1-year low of $35.31 and a 1-year high of $50.63. The company has a 50 day moving average of $43.48 and a 200-day moving average of $44.39. The company has a market cap of $46.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.66, a PEG ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.92.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.01). Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.69% and a net margin of 15.34%.The company had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.26 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 28th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 28th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is 82.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on FAST shares. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Fastenal from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Wolfe Research upgraded Fastenal from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating and set a $43.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Baird R W raised Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.32.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sarah N. Nielsen acquired 1,000 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $39.60 per share, for a total transaction of $39,600.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 5,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $198,000. This represents a 25.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $49.58 per share, for a total transaction of $49,580.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $495,800. This trade represents a 11.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders purchased 3,000 shares of company stock worth $131,630 in the last 90 days. 0.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.