Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Bought by Provident Trust Co.

Provident Trust Co. grew its holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 0.2% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,768,335 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,287 shares during the period. Fastenal makes up 3.6% of Provident Trust Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Provident Trust Co.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $197,714,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of FAST. Central Valley Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Fastenal in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1,019.0% during the third quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the first quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC raised its position in Fastenal by 528.4% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. 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 note on Thursday, October 10th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $86.00 target price (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Stephens lifted their price target on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other news, VP John Lewis Soderberg sold 488 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.32, for a total transaction of $37,244.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Fastenal news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,489,266.52. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 190,261 shares of company stock valued at $13,874,979 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of Fastenal stock opened at $83.33 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $47.74 billion, a PE ratio of 41.46, a P/E/G ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 0.99. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $59.04 and a twelve month high of $84.05. The company has a quick ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 4.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $73.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.70.

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

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

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

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.