Diversified Trust Co Makes New $233,000 Investment in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Diversified Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 3,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $233,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FAST. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Fastenal in the 3rd quarter worth $310,000. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 73.0% during the third quarter. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. now owns 87,081 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,219,000 after buying an additional 36,742 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Fastenal by 1.8% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 369,267 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,373,000 after buying an additional 6,488 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 3.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,572,999 shares of the company’s stock worth $350,703,000 after buying an additional 165,423 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Fastenal by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,718,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $336,974,000 after acquiring an additional 226,126 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fastenal Stock Performance

FAST stock opened at $71.63 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $78.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.60. The company has a current ratio of 4.40, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Fastenal has a 12-month low of $61.36 and a 12-month high of $84.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.04 billion, a PE ratio of 35.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.64 and a beta of 1.02.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.30% and a net margin of 15.44%. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.52 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group started coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 target price for the company. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $77.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fastenal news, VP John Lewis Soderberg sold 488 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.32, for a total value of $37,244.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 13,567 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.19, for a total transaction of $1,033,669.73. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $388,264.24. The trade was a 72.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 158,289 shares of company stock valued at $12,639,438. 0.41% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.