Equitable Trust Co. Has $12.99 Million Holdings in Fastenal Company $FAST

Equitable Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 56.3% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 279,989 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 100,898 shares during the quarter. Equitable Trust Co.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $12,991,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of FAST. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Palladiem LLC bought a new position in Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Field & Main Bank acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Tucker Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on FAST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. DA Davidson assumed coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $46.00 target price for the company. Bank of America boosted their target price on Fastenal from $48.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $48.00 price target on Fastenal and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.75.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $46.35 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $53.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.66, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a current ratio of 4.39. Fastenal Company has a fifty-two week low of $38.97 and a fifty-two week high of $50.63. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $45.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.01.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 13th. The company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30. The firm had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.25% and a net margin of 15.39%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Profile

Fastenal (NASDAQ: FAST) is a wholesale distributor of industrial and construction supplies, best known for its broad assortment of fasteners such as bolts, nuts, screws and anchors. Founded in Winona, Minnesota, Fastenal has grown from a regional supplier into a national and international distributor serving a wide range of end markets, including manufacturing, construction, maintenance, repair and operations (MRO), and government customers. The company is publicly traded and operates through a network of locally staffed branches combined with national distribution capabilities.

Product offerings extend beyond fasteners to include tools, safety and personal protective equipment, power transmission components, cutting and welding supplies, janitorial and material handling items, and other industrial consumables.