Freemont Management S.A. Buys New Stake in Fastenal Company $FAST

Freemont Management S.A. purchased a new stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,100,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Welch & Forbes LLC grew its holdings in Fastenal by 0.4% during the first quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 32,992 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,559,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 2.4% in the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 6,276 shares of the company’s stock valued at $487,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. boosted its position in Fastenal by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 5,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 3,407 shares of the company’s stock worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. Finally, Integrated Investment Consultants LLC grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 5,666 shares of the company’s stock worth $439,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other news, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total value of $333,000.14. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 11,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $583,747.98. This trade represents a 36.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 16th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $42.45 per share, for a total transaction of $42,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 9,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $382,050. The trade was a 12.50% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of Fastenal stock opened at $40.85 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.18, a PEG ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $44.36. Fastenal Company has a 12 month low of $35.31 and a 12 month high of $50.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.26 and a quick ratio of 2.19.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 13th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.01). Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.69% and a net margin of 15.34%.The firm had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.26 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 28th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on FAST. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Wolfe Research reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.50.

About Fastenal

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.