Brophy Wealth Management LLC Buys New Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Brophy Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 10,020 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $716,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Fastenal in the third quarter worth $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC raised its holdings in Fastenal by 1,019.0% during the third quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 470 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Fastenal during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fastenal Price Performance

FAST stock traded down $0.62 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $79.70. 1,035,406 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,242,707. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.40 and a quick ratio of 2.29. The stock's 50 day moving average is $78.81 and its 200 day moving average is $70.98. The company has a market cap of $45.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.79 and a beta of 1.00. Fastenal has a 12-month low of $61.33 and a 12-month high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.30% and a net margin of 15.44%. The business had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 25th were paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 25th. Fastenal's payout ratio is currently 77.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on FAST shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a "buy" rating and issued a $86.00 price target (up from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Stephens upped their target price on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $76.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In related news, CFO Holden Lewis sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.52, for a total value of $2,295,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 9,881 shares in the company, valued at approximately $756,094.12. This represents a 75.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.68, for a total transaction of $3,484,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,929,734.24. This trade represents a 14.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 208,289 shares of company stock worth $16,123,438 in the last quarter. 0.41% of the stock is owned by 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.