2,836 Shares in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Bought by Boston Trust Walden Corp

Boston Trust Walden Corp bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. Central Valley Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal during the second quarter valued at $32,000. Crewe Advisors LLC increased its stake in Fastenal by 528.4% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC increased its stake in Fastenal by 1,019.0% during the third quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Fastenal during the second quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Performance

FAST stock opened at $75.85 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $43.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.74, a PEG ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.94. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $57.01 and a fifty-two week high of $79.04. The company has a quick ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 4.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 33.30%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.52 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 25th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 25th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 77.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $86.00 target price (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fastenal news, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 680 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.86, for a total value of $52,944.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Fastenal news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total value of $3,116,996.16. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,489,266.52. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 680 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.86, for a total transaction of $52,944.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 179,373 shares of company stock worth $13,029,308. 0.41% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.