Community Trust & Investment Co. Invests $515,000 in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Community Trust & Investment Co. acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 7,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $515,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FAST. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 5.8% in the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 2,607 shares of the company's stock worth $186,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Compass Ion Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.5% during the third quarter. Compass Ion Advisors LLC now owns 9,927 shares of the company's stock valued at $709,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. grew its position in Fastenal by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 13,350 shares of the company's stock worth $1,030,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Sara Bay Financial boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.3% during the second quarter. Sara Bay Financial now owns 11,872 shares of the company's stock worth $746,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. Finally, Trueblood Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Fastenal by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,314 shares of the company's stock valued at $711,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 680 shares of Fastenal 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the firm's 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 owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,929,734.24. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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 value of $52,944.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 179,373 shares of company stock worth $13,029,308. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a "buy" rating and issued 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 lifted their price target on Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Seven 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, Fastenal has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $73.33.

Fastenal Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FAST traded down $0.66 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $75.88. 134,257 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,350,875. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.08, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $70.37 and a 200 day moving average of $67.93. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $56.41 and a twelve month high of $79.04.

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

Fastenal Announces Dividend

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

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.