Modern Wealth Management LLC Takes $200,000 Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Modern Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 2,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $200,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of FAST. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the fourth quarter worth $49,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Fastenal in the fourth quarter worth $49,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at $68,000. Finally, Eastern Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 440.7% during the 4th quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 802 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fastenal Price Performance

NASDAQ FAST opened at $76.17 on Friday. Fastenal has a one year low of $61.36 and a one year high of $84.88. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $75.35 and a 200 day moving average of $75.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 4.67. The company has a market capitalization of $43.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.90, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The business’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on FAST shares. Wolfe Research increased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. William Blair upgraded shares of Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. HSBC downgraded 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. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.91.

Fastenal Profile

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.