Equitable Trust Co. Sells 1,595 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Equitable Trust Co. lowered its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,390 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,595 shares during the period. Equitable Trust Co.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,218,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at about $747,000. Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV bought a new stake in Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,282,000. Clear Rock Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,936,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 98.6% during the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 118,301 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,126,000 after acquiring an additional 58,726 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 4th quarter worth $1,078,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $56.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price objective (down from $85.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fastenal presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $66.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total transaction of $3,116,996.16. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,489,266.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Fastenal news, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu bought 500 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $63.28 per share, for a total transaction of $31,640.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $221,480. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total transaction of $3,116,996.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,489,266.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Fastenal Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of FAST opened at $68.28 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $39.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 2.29. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $53.83 and a 1 year high of $79.04. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $66.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.78.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 12th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.51. The company had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.91 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 33.54%. Fastenal’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.52 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is presently 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.