Vest Financial LLC Raises Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Vest Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 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 approximately 0.13% of Fastenal worth $51,451,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal during the third quarter worth about $310,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 98.6% during the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 118,301 shares of the company's stock worth $9,126,000 after purchasing an additional 58,726 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 205.4% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 27,181 shares of the company's stock worth $2,097,000 after purchasing an additional 18,281 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in Fastenal by 499.7% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 132,046 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,186,000 after purchasing an additional 110,027 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Fastenal by 7.2% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,371,825 shares of the company's stock valued at $106,316,000 after purchasing an additional 91,754 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAST has been the topic of several research reports. Bank of America started coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $86.00 target price (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Seven investment 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 a consensus target price of $73.33.

Fastenal Price Performance

Fastenal stock traded up $0.26 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $77.90. 2,705,883 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,365,824. Fastenal has a 52 week low of $56.41 and a 52 week high of $79.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 4.39. The firm has a market cap of $44.60 billion, a PE ratio of 38.76, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 1.01. The company's fifty day moving average is $69.92 and its 200-day moving average is $67.91.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 33.54%. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.52 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

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 issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. Fastenal's payout ratio is currently 77.61%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 680 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.86, for a total value of $52,944.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 680 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.86, for a total transaction of $52,944.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider William Joseph Drazkowski sold 16,362 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.65, for a total value of $1,270,509.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,997 shares in the company, valued at approximately $465,667.05. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 179,373 shares of company stock worth $13,029,308. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.