Fiduciary Trust Co Reduces Stock Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Fiduciary Trust Co cut its holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 171,073 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,785 shares during the period. Fiduciary Trust Co’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $12,218,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Central Valley Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal during the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC raised its stake in Fastenal by 528.4% in the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America began coverage on Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Stephens upped their target price on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fastenal presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fastenal news, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 680 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.86, for a total value of $52,944.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP John Lewis Soderberg sold 488 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.32, for a total value of $37,244.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 208,289 shares of company stock valued at $16,123,438. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Price Performance

FAST stock opened at $83.71 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $77.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $70.08. The company has a market cap of $47.96 billion, a PE ratio of 41.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.91 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 4.40, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Fastenal has a 12-month low of $59.47 and a 12-month high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 33.30%. The company’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 25th were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 77.61%.

Fastenal 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.