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

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 1.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 369,267 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 6,488 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. owned about 0.06% of Fastenal worth $26,373,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Fastenal during the third quarter worth $310,000. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 73.0% in the third quarter. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. now owns 87,081 shares of the company's stock worth $6,219,000 after acquiring an additional 36,742 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 110,027 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Fastenal by 5.7% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 210,998 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,259,000 after buying an additional 11,436 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peak Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,643,000. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $88.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a "buy" rating and set a $86.00 target price (up from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $74.80.

Fastenal Price Performance

FAST traded up $0.72 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $83.08. 2,104,063 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,289,142. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.78 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 4.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Fastenal has a one year low of $59.47 and a one year high of $84.88. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $76.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.72.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. The firm 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 25th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio is currently 77.61%.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In related news, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 680 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $19,929,734.24. The trade was a 14.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 208,289 shares of company stock valued at $16,123,438 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company's stock.

About Fastenal

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.