Fenimore Asset Management Inc Sells 101,509 Shares of Fastenal Company $FAST

Key Points

• Fenimore Asset Management reduced its Fastenal stake by 3.1%, selling 101,509 shares in the third quarter. It retained 3.12 million shares valued at approximately $154.8 million, representing 3.4% of the fund’s holdings.
• Fastenal reported quarterly revenue of $2.39 billion and earnings of $0.33 per share, while revenue increased 14.7% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend from $0.24 to $0.26 per share.
• Fastenal shares recently traded at $50.49, near analysts’ average price target of $49.50. Analyst sentiment was mixed, resulting in a consensus “Hold” rating, while institutional investors owned 81.38% of the company.

Fenimore Asset Management Inc cut its holdings in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,124,839 shares of the company's stock after selling 101,509 shares during the period. Fastenal makes up approximately 3.4% of Fenimore Asset Management Inc's holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Fenimore Asset Management Inc owned about 0.27% of Fastenal worth $154,773,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Evergreen Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the second quarter worth $26,000. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 69.6% during the first quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 748 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 123.8% in the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 931 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 515 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Michael J. Ancius sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,875,810. This trade represents a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Rita Heise sold 34,964 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director directly owned 20,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,001,000. The trade was a 63.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Stock Up 1.3%

NASDAQ FAST traded up $0.66 during trading on Thursday, reaching $50.49. 6,770,604 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,797,831. The company has a current ratio of 4.18, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Fastenal Company has a fifty-two week low of $38.97 and a fifty-two week high of $52.92. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $50.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.94 billion, a PE ratio of 42.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.69.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33. The business had revenue of $2.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.45% and a return on equity of 34.03%. The firm's revenue was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.29 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Fastenal Company will post 1.26 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is an increase from Fastenal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 28th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 88.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FAST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $55.00 price objective on Fastenal and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a report on Friday, August 7th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $51.00 target price on the stock. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Friday, September 4th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Fastenal from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $49.50.

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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