D.A. Davidson & CO. Buys 1,123 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 23,263 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,123 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,662,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in FAST. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Fastenal during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $310,000. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 73.0% during the third quarter. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. now owns 87,081 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,219,000 after acquiring an additional 36,742 shares in the last quarter. 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 worth $10,186,000 after acquiring an additional 110,027 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 11,436 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in Fastenal by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 369,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,373,000 after purchasing an additional 6,488 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.2 %

Fastenal stock opened at $83.56 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $77.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $70.31. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $59.49 and a 12 month high of $84.88. The company has a market capitalization of $47.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 4.40, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 33.30%. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th were issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 25th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.61%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 31,818 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total transaction of $2,688,621.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,168,521. This represents a 10.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP John Lewis Soderberg sold 488 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.32, for a total transaction of $37,244.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 208,289 shares of company stock valued at $16,123,438. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on FAST shares. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group started 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, Stephens increased their price objective on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.