Equitable Trust Co. Boosts Position in Fastenal Company $FAST

Key Points

• Equitable Trust Co. raised its stake in Fastenal by 22.2% in Q4 to 179,091 shares (worth about $7.19M), while institutional investors own roughly 81.38% of the company (Vanguard alone holds 151.5M shares).
• Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 36,920 shares at an average of $47.34—reducing her holdings to 40,000 shares (a 48% drop); overall insider ownership is just 0.28%.
• Fastenal reported Q1 EPS of $0.30 (in line with estimates) and revenue of $2.20B (+12.4% YoY), declared a $0.24 quarterly dividend (2.2% yield), and carries a consensus analyst rating of "Hold" with a $49.77 price target amid mixed individual upgrades.

Equitable Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 22.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 179,091 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 32,495 shares during the quarter. Equitable Trust Co.'s holdings in Fastenal were worth $7,187,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Fastenal by 1.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 151,515,539 shares of the company's stock worth $7,430,322,000 after buying an additional 2,346,045 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Fastenal by 14.0% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,215,875 shares of the company's stock worth $893,307,000 after buying an additional 2,242,116 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Fastenal by 1.1% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 15,604,974 shares of the company's stock worth $765,268,000 after buying an additional 173,581 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in Fastenal by 0.3% in the third quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,276,145 shares of the company's stock worth $405,860,000 after buying an additional 26,702 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Fastenal by 1.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,387,472 shares of the company's stock worth $362,282,000 after buying an additional 90,095 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on FAST. Barclays upped their price target on Fastenal from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley restated a "positive" rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Bank of America upped their price target on Fastenal from $48.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "underperform" rating and issued a $42.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $49.77.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 36,920 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.34, for a total transaction of $1,747,792.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 40,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,893,600. This represents a 48.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of Fastenal stock opened at $44.33 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $45.66 and a 200 day moving average of $43.58. Fastenal Company has a 12 month low of $38.97 and a 12 month high of $50.63. The firm has a market cap of $50.89 billion, a PE ratio of 38.89, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 13th. The company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.30. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.25% and a net margin of 15.39%.The company had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 1.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 28th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio is presently 84.21%.

About Fastenal

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.

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