Freemont Management S.A. Makes New Investment in Fastenal Company $FAST

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

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of FAST. Patton Fund Management Inc. purchased a new position in Fastenal during the 2nd quarter valued at about $229,000. Values First Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 183.0% during the second quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 9,378 shares of the company’s stock valued at $394,000 after purchasing an additional 6,064 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Fastenal by 8.9% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,615,915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,753,864,000 after buying an additional 1,850,871 shares during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its holdings in Fastenal by 7.5% during the first quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 181,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,074,000 after buying an additional 12,721 shares during the period. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS raised its stake in Fastenal by 3.9% in the first quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 195,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,180,000 after buying an additional 7,400 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $583,747.98. This represents a 36.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu acquired 1,000 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 16th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $42.45 per share, with a total value of $42,450.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 9,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $382,050. The trade was a 12.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of Fastenal stock opened at $40.85 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $45.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.36. The firm 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 company has a quick ratio of 2.19, a current ratio of 4.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Fastenal Company has a 52 week low of $35.31 and a 52 week high of $50.63.

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). The company had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.34% and a return on equity of 32.69%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.26 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on FAST shares. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Fastenal from $53.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Barclays set a $45.00 price objective on Fastenal and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Wolfe Research reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Stephens increased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.50.

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.