Provident Investment Management Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Provident Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 879,272 shares of the company’s stock after selling 19,411 shares during the quarter. Fastenal comprises 5.4% of Provident Investment Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position. Provident Investment Management Inc. owned 0.15% of Fastenal worth $56,950,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hartford Financial Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 46.9% during the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 479 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 283.2% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 755 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares during the period. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth approximately $52,000. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 11,076 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total transaction of $832,472.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 11,076 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total transaction of $832,472.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson bought 3,350 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $68.38 per share, with a total value of $229,073.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $724,486.10. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 15th. HSBC lifted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.33.

Fastenal Price Performance

Fastenal stock traded down $1.26 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $64.76. The company had a trading volume of 2,758,668 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,790,362. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $52.86 and a fifty-two week high of $79.04. The company has a current ratio of 4.83, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a market cap of $37.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $68.11.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its 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). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.68% and a return on equity of 33.98%. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.52 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 25th were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 24th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.41%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.23%.

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.