Fastenal Company $FAST Shares Bought by Vest Financial LLC

Vest Financial LLC grew its holdings in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,081,024 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,475 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Fastenal worth $53,543,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of FAST. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $5,105,454,000. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Fastenal by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 56,438,968 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,710,764,000 after buying an additional 869,793 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Fastenal during the 2nd quarter valued at $859,310,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Fastenal by 12.0% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 16,292,425 shares of the company’s stock worth $755,969,000 after buying an additional 1,744,193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Fastenal by 1.2% during the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,561,007 shares of the company’s stock worth $747,395,000 after buying an additional 183,238 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on FAST. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Fastenal from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $51.00 price objective for the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Fastenal from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.46.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In related news, Director Michael J. Ancius sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.00, for a total transaction of $147,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 58,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,875,810. This represents a 4.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Rita Heise sold 34,964 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.05, for a total transaction of $1,749,948.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,001,000. The trade was a 63.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Fastenal Price Performance

Fastenal stock opened at $52.49 on Thursday. Fastenal Company has a 1 year low of $38.97 and a 1 year high of $52.92. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $50.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.65. The company has a market cap of $60.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.65, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a current ratio of 3.93.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 14th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.44 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.62% and a return on equity of 35.13%. Fastenal’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.29 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Fastenal Company will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 28th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 83.87%.

Fastenal Company Profile

Fastenal Company is a distributor of industrial and construction supplies headquartered in Winona, Minnesota. Founded in 1967, the company primarily serves businesses that require products for manufacturing, construction, maintenance, repair and operations.

Its product range includes threaded fasteners, bolts, nuts, screws, industrial and safety supplies, tools, electrical and plumbing products, material-handling equipment, and other related items. Fastenal also provides inventory-management solutions, including automated vending machines, customer-specific inventory programs and onsite services designed to improve product availability and purchasing efficiency.

Fastenal serves customers through a network of locations and sales channels across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe and parts of Asia.