Provident Trust Co. Has $196.81 Million Stock Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Provident Trust Co. cut its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,736,832 shares of the company's stock after selling 31,503 shares during the quarter. Fastenal accounts for 3.4% of Provident Trust Co.'s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Provident Trust Co. owned approximately 0.48% of Fastenal worth $196,806,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. lifted its stake in Fastenal by 73.0% during the third quarter. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. now owns 87,081 shares of the company's stock worth $6,219,000 after purchasing an additional 36,742 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in Fastenal by 1.8% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 369,267 shares of the company's stock worth $26,373,000 after purchasing an additional 6,488 shares during the period. Matrix Trust Co bought a new position in Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth about $1,756,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Fastenal by 3.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,572,999 shares of the company's stock worth $350,703,000 after purchasing an additional 165,423 shares during the period. Finally, Czech National Bank lifted its stake in Fastenal by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 124,213 shares of the company's stock worth $8,932,000 after purchasing an additional 7,559 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of Fastenal stock traded down $0.36 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $74.78. The company had a trading volume of 3,347,592 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,008,088. The company has a current ratio of 4.67, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a market capitalization of $42.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $74.24. Fastenal has a 1-year low of $61.36 and a 1-year high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.46 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. This is a positive change from Fastenal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on FAST. 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 research note on Friday, December 6th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $88.00 price target for the company. HSBC cut shares of Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research lifted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $76.91.

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.