Avior Wealth Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Avior Wealth Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 22.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,382 shares of the company’s stock after selling 399 shares during the quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $99,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Fastenal by 1.9% during the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the company’s stock worth $545,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 2,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the period. Compass Ion Advisors LLC grew its position in Fastenal by 1.5% in the third quarter. Compass Ion Advisors LLC now owns 9,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $709,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 4.5% during the third quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,359 shares of the company’s stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sara Bay Financial increased its stake in Fastenal by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sara Bay Financial now owns 11,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $746,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fastenal Price Performance

NASDAQ FAST opened at $83.08 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $76.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.74. The stock has a market cap of $47.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.83 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 4.40, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Fastenal has a 52 week low of $59.47 and a 52 week high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.30% and a net margin of 15.44%. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 25th were issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 25th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 77.61%.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of Fastenal 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 directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson sold 8,474 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.36, for a total value of $706,392.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at $883,199.20. This represents a 44.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 208,289 shares of company stock worth $16,123,438 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAST has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group started coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $86.00 price target (up from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.80.

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.