PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Acquires 6,488 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 1.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 369,267 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,488 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $26,373,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Central Valley Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC grew its holdings in Fastenal by 1,019.0% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the first quarter worth $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on FAST. Bank of America assumed coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $86.00 price target (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective 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. boosted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Stephens raised their price target on shares of Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.80.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of FAST opened at $82.44 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 4.40. The company has a market capitalization of $47.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.78 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $75.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.60. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $59.47 and a fifty-two week high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 33.30%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.61%.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.68, for a total transaction of $3,484,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,929,734.24. This trade represents a 14.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 680 shares of the 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. Insiders sold 208,289 shares of company stock valued at $16,123,438 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Company 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.