Formidable Asset Management LLC Acquires 6,659 Shares of Fastenal Company $FAST

Formidable Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 64.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,918 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,659 shares during the period. Formidable Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $711,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 49,219 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,817,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC grew its holdings in Fastenal by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 32,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,559,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 0.9% in the first quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 15,886 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,142,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.6% in the first quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $698,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Essex Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Fastenal by 1.7% in the first quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 8,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $688,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on FAST. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Robert W. Baird upgraded Fastenal from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $47.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Baird R W upgraded Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Loop Capital restated a “hold” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price target on Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Fastenal has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.82.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fastenal news, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $583,747.98. This trade represents a 36.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.05, for a total value of $2,341,188.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 11,880 shares in the company, valued at $570,834. This trade represents a 80.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 111,230 shares of company stock worth $5,288,364. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST opened at $48.70 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 4.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The business has a fifty day moving average of $48.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.19. The stock has a market cap of $55.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.83, a PEG ratio of 4.35 and a beta of 0.97. Fastenal Company has a 52-week low of $34.69 and a 52-week high of $50.63.

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

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th were issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 29th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 84.62%.

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.