Vest Financial LLC Increases Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Vest Financial LLC lifted its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 720,406 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 69,124 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC owned about 0.13% of Fastenal worth $51,451,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new position in Fastenal during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,105,000. Wedmont Private Capital raised its position in Fastenal by 6.4% during the first quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,736 shares of the company’s stock valued at $284,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Fastenal by 49.4% during the first quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,703 shares of the company’s stock valued at $360,000 after acquiring an additional 1,555 shares in the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC raised its position in Fastenal by 41.3% during the first quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 13,683 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,056,000 after acquiring an additional 4,002 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Annex Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Fastenal during the first quarter valued at approximately $271,000. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $86.00 price target (up from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $73.33.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In related news, 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 value of $3,484,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,929,734.24. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Fastenal news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.68, for a total value of $3,484,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,929,734.24. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 680 shares of the firm’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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 179,373 shares of company stock worth $13,029,308 over the last quarter. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FAST traded up $0.26 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $77.90. The stock had a trading volume of 2,705,883 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,365,824. The firm has a market cap of $44.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.76, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $56.41 and a fifty-two week high of $79.04. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $69.92 and a 200-day moving average of $67.97.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.54% and a net margin of 15.54%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.52 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.61%.

Fastenal 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.