Provident Trust Co. Sells 31,503 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Provident Trust Co. lessened its holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,736,832 shares of the company’s stock after selling 31,503 shares during the period. Fastenal comprises 3.4% of Provident Trust Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Provident Trust Co. owned 0.48% of Fastenal worth $196,806,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its stake in Fastenal by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 25,104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,805,000 after purchasing an additional 1,841 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 199,109 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,318,000 after purchasing an additional 4,671 shares during the period. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1,173.7% in the 4th quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 6,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $435,000 after acquiring an additional 5,575 shares in the last quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Fastenal by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 17,140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,233,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Fastenal by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 15,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,132,000 after purchasing an additional 896 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Hsbc Global Res cut Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wolfe Research raised their target price on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.91.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of FAST opened at $74.78 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $74.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $74.12. The stock has a market cap of $42.84 billion, a PE ratio of 37.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.02. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $61.36 and a fifty-two week high of $84.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 4.67.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.02). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.46 earnings per share. Fastenal’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.57%.

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.