Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc Raises Stock Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 59.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 131,568 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 48,804 shares during the quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $9,397,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in FAST. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 3.4% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,909,206 shares of the company’s stock worth $371,334,000 after purchasing an additional 193,734 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Fastenal by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,665,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,179,000 after buying an additional 66,130 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 13.2% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 4,420,659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $277,794,000 after buying an additional 517,172 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 19.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,837,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,161,000 after acquiring an additional 636,546 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in Fastenal by 2.9% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 3,190,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $200,506,000 after acquiring an additional 91,411 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In related news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total value of $3,116,996.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,489,266.52. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 31,818 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $24,168,521. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total value of $3,116,996.16. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 222,079 shares of company stock valued at $16,563,600. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on FAST. UBS Group began coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated 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. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Fastenal currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.80.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Fastenal stock opened at $83.62 on Thursday. Fastenal has a 1-year low of $59.47 and a 1-year high of $84.88. The company’s 50-day moving average is $73.94 and its 200 day moving average is $68.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.60, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.30% and a net margin of 15.44%. Fastenal’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.61%.

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.