Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Purchased by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 11.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 411,597 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 42,330 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $29,598,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $49,000. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on FAST shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wolfe Research upped their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. HSBC lowered Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Hsbc Global Res lowered Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.91.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of FAST opened at $79.98 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $45.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.79, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $74.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.67 and a quick ratio of 2.28. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $61.36 and a 12 month high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. Fastenal’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.46 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.43 dividend. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.57%.

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.