Freedom Investment Management Inc. Sells 280 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Freedom Investment Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,797 shares of the company’s stock after selling 280 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $343,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $310,000. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 73.0% in the third quarter. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. now owns 87,081 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,219,000 after purchasing an additional 36,742 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 499.7% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 132,046 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,186,000 after purchasing an additional 110,027 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 210,998 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,259,000 after purchasing an additional 11,436 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 369,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,373,000 after buying an additional 6,488 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on FAST shares. Stephens increased their target price on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America began coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $86.00 price objective (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.80.

Fastenal Price Performance

FAST opened at $83.56 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.87 billion, a PE ratio of 41.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.40 and a quick ratio of 2.29. The business’s 50-day moving average is $77.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.31. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $59.49 and a 1 year high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 33.30%. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.61%.

Insider Activity

In other Fastenal news, VP John Lewis Soderberg sold 488 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.32, for a total transaction of $37,244.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.68, for a total value of $3,484,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,929,734.24. This represents a 14.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 208,289 shares of company stock worth $16,123,438. Insiders own 0.41% 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.