Provident Trust Co. Sells 27,105 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Provident Trust Co. decreased its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,692,319 shares of the company’s stock after selling 27,105 shares during the period. Fastenal comprises 3.6% of Provident Trust Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Provident Trust Co. owned about 0.47% of Fastenal worth $174,382,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hartford Financial Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 46.9% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC now owns 7,212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $467,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Berkshire Bank increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 3.1% in the third quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 5,777 shares of the company’s stock valued at $316,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.1% in the third quarter. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,960 shares of the company’s stock valued at $873,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Koshinski Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,075 shares of the company’s stock valued at $329,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on FAST shares. Loop Capital lowered their price target on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 15th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. HSBC raised their price target on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Fastenal from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 12th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.67.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other news, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 5,586 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.34, for a total transaction of $387,333.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 19,420 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.25, for a total value of $1,364,255.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $417,285. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 5,586 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.34, for a total transaction of $387,333.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 36,082 shares of company stock valued at $2,584,060 over the last three months. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Fastenal Trading Up 0.0 %

FAST traded up $0.03 during trading on Friday, reaching $68.17. 2,802,015 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,004,192. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $73.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a current ratio of 4.83. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $52.66 and a fifty-two week high of $79.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.03 billion, a PE ratio of 33.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 1.05.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.91 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.98% and a net margin of 15.68%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.12 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 25th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 24th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is 77.23%.

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.