Freedom Investment Management Inc. Has $314,000 Position in Fastenal Company $FAST

Freedom Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 65.6% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 7,474 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,961 shares during the quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $314,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Cantillon Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Fastenal by 94.4% during the 2nd quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 9,298,033 shares of the company’s stock worth $390,517,000 after acquiring an additional 4,513,985 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL grew its holdings in Fastenal by 107.2% during the 2nd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 6,822,973 shares of the company’s stock worth $286,565,000 after acquiring an additional 3,530,339 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Fastenal by 90.0% during the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 4,934,558 shares of the company’s stock worth $207,251,000 after acquiring an additional 2,337,187 shares during the period. Fenimore Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Fastenal by 101.0% during the 2nd quarter. Fenimore Asset Management Inc now owns 3,747,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $157,404,000 after acquiring an additional 1,883,419 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Fastenal by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,615,915 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,753,864,000 after acquiring an additional 1,850,871 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on FAST. Northcoast Research began coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, August 21st. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Saturday. Loop Capital reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $53.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Fastenal currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.50.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In related news, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.03, for a total value of $1,662,414.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 16th. The stock was bought at an average cost 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 in the company, valued at $382,050. This represents a 12.50% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 90,178 shares of company stock valued at $4,336,603. 0.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of FAST stock opened at $42.87 on Monday. Fastenal Company has a 12-month low of $35.31 and a 12-month high of $50.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 2.19, a current ratio of 4.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $47.27 and a 200-day moving average of $44.29.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 13th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.34% and a return on equity of 32.69%. The company’s revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.26 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 28th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 82.24%.

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.