Provident Trust Co. Has $207.46 Million Stock Holdings in Fastenal Company $FAST

Provident Trust Co. lessened its stake in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,169,588 shares of the company’s stock after selling 222,767 shares during the quarter. Fastenal comprises about 3.5% of Provident Trust Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Provident Trust Co.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $207,456,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 151,515,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,430,322,000 after acquiring an additional 2,346,045 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,558,579 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,433,000 after acquiring an additional 53,888 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,713,469 shares of the company’s stock worth $181,626,000 after acquiring an additional 219,154 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,387,472 shares of the company’s stock worth $362,282,000 after acquiring an additional 90,095 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BlueStem Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 3rd quarter worth $634,000. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fastenal news, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 36,920 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.34, for a total value of $1,747,792.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,893,600. The trade was a 48.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on FAST shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Raymond James Financial set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $48.00 to $55.00 in a report on Monday, April 13th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Fastenal presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.77.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Fastenal stock opened at $44.91 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.34, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a market capitalization of $51.56 billion, a PE ratio of 39.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.75. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.56. Fastenal Company has a twelve month low of $38.97 and a twelve month high of $50.63.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 13th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.30. The business had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.39% and a return on equity of 33.25%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 1.23 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 28th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 28th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 84.21%.

Fastenal Profile

Fastenal (NASDAQ: FAST) is a wholesale distributor of industrial and construction supplies, best known for its broad assortment of fasteners such as bolts, nuts, screws and anchors. Founded in Winona, Minnesota, Fastenal has grown from a regional supplier into a national and international distributor serving a wide range of end markets, including manufacturing, construction, maintenance, repair and operations (MRO), and government customers. The company is publicly traded and operates through a network of locally staffed branches combined with national distribution capabilities.

Product offerings extend beyond fasteners to include tools, safety and personal protective equipment, power transmission components, cutting and welding supplies, janitorial and material handling items, and other industrial consumables.