Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Sold by Provident Investment Management Inc.

Key Points

• Provident Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in Fastenal Company by 3.1%, selling 27,061 shares, leaving it with a total of 834,629 shares valued at approximately $64.73 million.
• Fastenal's quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $0.29, surpassing analyst expectations, with revenue reaching $2.08 billion.
• Following insider sales, only 0.37% of Fastenal's stock is currently held by insiders, indicating a significant reduction in ownership among executives.

Provident Investment Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 3.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 834,629 shares of the company's stock after selling 27,061 shares during the quarter. Fastenal accounts for approximately 6.1% of Provident Investment Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Provident Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.15% of Fastenal worth $64,725,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 7.5% in the first quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 181,482 shares of the company's stock worth $14,074,000 after acquiring an additional 12,721 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS boosted its position in Fastenal by 3.9% during the first quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 195,748 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,180,000 after purchasing an additional 7,400 shares during the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG grew its stake in Fastenal by 21.5% in the first quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 35,606 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,712,000 after purchasing an additional 6,303 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in Fastenal by 9.6% in the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 391,932 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,394,000 after purchasing an additional 34,443 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abacus Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal in the 1st quarter worth about $478,000. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fastenal Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FAST traded up $0.51 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $47.99. The stock had a trading volume of 5,069,335 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,317,861. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.14, a PEG ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 0.95. Fastenal Company has a 1-year low of $32.04 and a 1-year high of $48.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.22 and a quick ratio of 2.12. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $43.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.51.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.07 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 32.33%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.25 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 29th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 84.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on FAST shares. Baird R W upgraded Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 target price on shares of Fastenal and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Loop Capital restated a "hold" rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised shares of Fastenal from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $46.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 21,052 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.21, for a total value of $951,760.92. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 10,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $460,780.32. This trade represents a 67.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 32,724 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.23, for a total transaction of $1,349,046.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Company 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.