Fastenal Company $FAST Stock Purchased by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management increased its Fastenal stake by 292.9% in the third quarter, acquiring 1.57 million additional shares to own 2.1 million shares, or 0.18% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own 81.38% of Fastenal.
• Fastenal’s third-quarter results exceeded expectations, with revenue rising 15.5% year over year to $2.46 billion and EPS reaching $0.35 versus the $0.34 consensus estimate.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: the consensus rating is Hold with an average price target of $50.83, while Fastenal declared a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, representing a 2.0% yield.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 292.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,100,441 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,565,849 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.18% of Fastenal worth $104,035,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Evergreen Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal in the first quarter valued at $26,000. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 69.6% in the first quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 748 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 307 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal in the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on FAST. Weiss Ratings upgraded Fastenal from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Barclays dropped their target price on Fastenal from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Fastenal from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. DA Davidson set a $51.00 price target on Fastenal and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $50.83.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other news, Director Rita J. Heise sold 34,964 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.05, for a total value of $1,749,948.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 20,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,001,000. This represents a 63.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Michael Ancius sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.00, for a total transaction of $147,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 58,690 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,875,810. This represents a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Fastenal Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $51.02 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.93, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a market cap of $58.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.69. Fastenal Company has a 12-month low of $38.97 and a 12-month high of $52.92. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $50.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.52.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 14th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.44 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.62% and a return on equity of 35.13%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.29 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 28th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 28th. Fastenal's payout ratio is 83.87%.

Key Headlines Impacting Fastenal

Here are the key news stories impacting Fastenal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 results exceeded expectations: Revenue rose 15.5% year over year to $2.46 billion, while EPS increased to $0.35 from $0.29 and topped the $0.34 consensus estimate. Operating margin improved to 21.5%, reflecting better selling and administrative expense leverage. Fastenal Q3 Results Highlight Margin Power
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised price targets: Robert W. Baird increased its target from $59 to $60 and maintained an Outperform rating, implying additional upside based on the stock’s recent trading level. Other analysts also lifted forecasts following the earnings beat. Baird Raises Target for Fastenal
• Positive Sentiment: Growth initiatives remain constructive: Market-share gains, digital expansion and continued adoption of FASTBin and FASTVend vending systems support Fastenal’s longer-term growth outlook. Its dividend and capital-return profile also remains attractive to income-focused investors. FAST Q3 Deep Dive
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned about the quality and pace of growth: September sales reportedly missed expectations, gross margin declined to 44.8% from 45.3%, and Fastenal reduced its 2026 weighted device-signing target to 27,000–29,000 from 28,000–30,000. Analysts at DA Davidson maintained a Neutral view, while some estimates were cut after the report. Fastenal Analyst Cuts Estimates

Fastenal Profile

Fastenal Company is a distributor of industrial and construction supplies serving businesses, contractors, manufacturers and other organizations. Its product offerings include fasteners such as bolts, nuts and screws, as well as safety equipment, tools, cutting tools, material-handling products, electrical and plumbing supplies, and maintenance and repair items.

The company sells products through a network of branch locations, onsite customer facilities, industrial vending machines and digital platforms.

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