Equitable Trust Co. Has $1.36 Million Stock Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Equitable Trust Co. trimmed its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 2.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,006 shares of the company’s stock after selling 384 shares during the quarter. Equitable Trust Co.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,357,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in FAST. Stiles Financial Services Inc lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 2.5% in the third quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 51,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,687,000 after buying an additional 1,253 shares during the period. Montecito Bank & Trust lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 103.6% in the 3rd quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust now owns 10,360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $740,000 after purchasing an additional 5,272 shares during the period. Cozad Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 3rd quarter valued at about $202,000. WoodTrust Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp now owns 34,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,491,000 after purchasing an additional 1,750 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. grew its stake in Fastenal by 15.4% during the third quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. now owns 14,888 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,063,000 after purchasing an additional 1,982 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In related news, Director Rita J. Heise sold 10,888 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.67, for a total transaction of $845,670.96. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,553,400. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Rita J. Heise sold 10,888 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.67, for a total transaction of $845,670.96. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,553,400. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 680 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 a total of 190,261 shares of company stock worth $13,874,979 in the last quarter. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Fastenal Trading Up 0.3 %

FAST opened at $83.33 on Friday. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $59.04 and a fifty-two week high of $84.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.74 billion, a PE ratio of 41.46, a P/E/G 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. The company’s 50-day moving average is $73.29 and its 200 day moving average is $68.70.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion during 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 25th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is 77.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on FAST shares. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $86.00 price target (up from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Stephens increased their target price 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. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fastenal presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.33.

About Fastenal

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.