Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Acquired by Suncoast Equity Management

Suncoast Equity Management lifted its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 11,825 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the quarter. Suncoast Equity Management’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $845,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FAST. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,736 shares of the company’s stock valued at $284,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Fastenal by 49.4% during the first quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,703 shares of the company’s stock worth $360,000 after purchasing an additional 1,555 shares during the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC boosted its position in Fastenal by 41.3% during the first quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 13,683 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,056,000 after purchasing an additional 4,002 shares in the last quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the first quarter valued at $271,000. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal in the first quarter valued at $226,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $86.00 price target (up from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Stephens upped their target price on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.33.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ FAST traded down $0.29 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $77.61. 654,122 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,352,466. The business’s 50 day moving average is $69.92 and its 200-day moving average is $67.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 4.39. Fastenal has a 12-month low of $56.41 and a 12-month high of $79.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 1.01.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 33.54%. The business had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.61%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP John Lewis Soderberg sold 488 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.32, for a total transaction of $37,244.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Fastenal news, VP John Lewis Soderberg sold 488 shares of the business’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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 680 shares of the firm’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. Insiders sold 179,373 shares of company stock valued at $13,029,308 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

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.