First National Trust Co Buys New Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

First National Trust Co purchased a new position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 2,959 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $211,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of FAST. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the company’s stock worth $545,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its holdings 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 valued at $186,000 after buying an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Compass Ion Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Compass Ion Advisors LLC now owns 9,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $709,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,359 shares of the company’s stock worth $240,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 31,818 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total transaction of $2,688,621.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,168,521. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total transaction of $3,116,996.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,489,266.52. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 31,818 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total transaction of $2,688,621.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at $24,168,521. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 222,079 shares of company stock valued at $16,563,600 over the last three months. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of FAST stock opened at $83.62 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $47.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.60, a PEG ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.40 and a quick ratio of 2.29. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $59.47 and a fifty-two week high of $84.88. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $73.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.93.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 25th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on FAST. Stephens upped their target price on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $86.00 price target (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 14th. 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 research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 target price on the stock. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.80.

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.