Freemont Management S.A. Buys 42,700 Shares of Fastenal Company $FAST

Freemont Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 82.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 94,500 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 42,700 shares during the quarter. Freemont Management S.A.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $3,792,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of FAST. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 151,515,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,430,322,000 after acquiring an additional 2,346,045 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,558,579 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,433,000 after acquiring an additional 53,888 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,387,472 shares of the company’s stock worth $362,282,000 after acquiring an additional 90,095 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,713,469 shares of the company’s stock worth $181,626,000 after acquiring an additional 219,154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BlueStem Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 3rd quarter worth about $634,000. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on FAST shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley reissued a “positive” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $46.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Wolfe Research reduced their target price on Fastenal from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Fastenal from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.77.

Fastenal Price Performance

FAST stock opened at $43.77 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $50.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a current ratio of 4.39. Fastenal Company has a 52-week low of $38.97 and a 52-week high of $50.63. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.64.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 13th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30. The business had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.25% and a net margin of 15.39%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.52 EPS. Research analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 1.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 28th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 84.21%.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 36,920 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.34, for a total transaction of $1,747,792.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 40,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,893,600. The trade was a 48.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Profile

Fastenal (NASDAQ: FAST) is a wholesale distributor of industrial and construction supplies, best known for its broad assortment of fasteners such as bolts, nuts, screws and anchors. Founded in Winona, Minnesota, Fastenal has grown from a regional supplier into a national and international distributor serving a wide range of end markets, including manufacturing, construction, maintenance, repair and operations (MRO), and government customers. The company is publicly traded and operates through a network of locally staffed branches combined with national distribution capabilities.

Product offerings extend beyond fasteners to include tools, safety and personal protective equipment, power transmission components, cutting and welding supplies, janitorial and material handling items, and other industrial consumables.