Fastenal Company $FAST Stock Holdings Decreased by Provident Investment Management Inc.

Provident Investment Management Inc. decreased its stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 130,400 shares of the company’s stock after selling 22,250 shares during the period. Fastenal accounts for 0.6% of Provident Investment Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Provident Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $6,459,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Evergreen Advisors LLC bought a new position in Fastenal during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Fastenal by 69.6% during the 1st quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 748 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 307 shares during the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the second quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Paladin Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the second quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, Director Michael Ancius sold 3,000 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.00, for a total transaction of $147,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 58,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,875,810. The trade was a 4.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Rita J. Heise sold 34,964 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.05, for a total value of $1,749,948.20. Following the transaction, the director owned 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,001,000. This trade represents a 63.61% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Fastenal Stock Performance

FAST opened at $51.91 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $50.36 and its 200-day moving average is $47.74. The stock has a market cap of $59.56 billion, a PE ratio of 41.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 3.93, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Fastenal Company has a twelve month low of $38.97 and a twelve month high of $52.92.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 14th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.01. Fastenal had a return on equity of 35.13% and a net margin of 15.62%. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.29 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Fastenal Company will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 28th will be given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 28th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FAST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $55.00 target price on Fastenal and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. DA Davidson set a $51.00 price target on shares of Fastenal and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Friday, September 4th. Finally, Argus increased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fastenal presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.46.

About Fastenal

Fastenal Company is a distributor of industrial and construction supplies headquartered in Winona, Minnesota. Founded in 1967, the company primarily serves businesses that require products for manufacturing, construction, maintenance, repair and operations.

Its product range includes threaded fasteners, bolts, nuts, screws, industrial and safety supplies, tools, electrical and plumbing products, material-handling equipment, and other related items. Fastenal also provides inventory-management solutions, including automated vending machines, customer-specific inventory programs and onsite services designed to improve product availability and purchasing efficiency.

Fastenal serves customers through a network of locations and sales channels across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe and parts of Asia.