Fenimore Asset Management Inc Purchases 1,883,419 Shares of Fastenal Company $FAST

Key Points

• Fenimore Asset Management Inc significantly increased its stake in Fastenal by acquiring an additional 1,883,419 shares, bringing its total holdings to approximately 3.7 million shares.
• Analysts have varying price targets for Fastenal, with estimates ranging from $40.00 to $82.00, and an average consensus target price of $46.82.
• Fastenal recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, which translates to an annual yield of 1.8% with a payout ratio of 84.62%.

Fenimore Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 101.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,747,704 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,883,419 shares during the period. Fastenal accounts for about 3.1% of Fenimore Asset Management Inc's portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Fenimore Asset Management Inc owned approximately 0.33% of Fastenal worth $157,404,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Riverview Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 100.0% in the second quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 584 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the period. Hilltop National Bank bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 100.0% during the 2nd quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 696 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 348 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its stake in Fastenal by 95.0% during the second quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 702 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the period. Finally, Clean Yield Group boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 100.0% during the 2nd quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 696 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on FAST shares. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 target price on Fastenal and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Wolfe Research restated a "positive" rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Northcoast Research assumed coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $46.82.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.03, for a total value of $1,662,414.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total transaction of $333,000.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 11,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $583,747.98. This represents a 36.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 111,230 shares of company stock valued at $5,288,364 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.6%

NASDAQ FAST opened at $47.88 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 4.22, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Fastenal Company has a 12-month low of $34.69 and a 12-month high of $50.63. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.64. The stock has a market cap of $54.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.04, a P/E/G ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.94.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.01. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 32.33%. The business had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.25 EPS. The business's revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 29th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.

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