Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. Buys 11,590 Shares of Fastenal Company $FAST

Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. boosted its holdings in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 100.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,180 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 11,590 shares during the period. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $974,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. 1248 Management LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal in the first quarter worth about $36,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in Fastenal by 5,330.0% during the first quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 543 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 533 shares during the period. Riverview Trust Co grew its holdings in Fastenal by 100.0% in the second quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 584 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in Fastenal in the first quarter worth $49,000. Finally, Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the second quarter worth $27,000. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on FAST. Loop Capital reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Fastenal from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $47.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Stephens lifted their target price 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. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Northcoast Research started coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.82.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 21,052 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.21, for a total value of $951,760.92. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,192 shares in the company, valued at $460,780.32. This trade represents a 67.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.03, for a total transaction of $1,662,414.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 111,230 shares of company stock valued at $5,288,364. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.6%

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $47.88 on Friday. Fastenal Company has a 12 month low of $34.69 and a 12 month high of $50.63. The company’s 50 day moving average is $48.18 and its 200-day moving average is $43.56. The firm has a market cap of $54.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.04, a P/E/G ratio of 4.37 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 4.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 32.33%. Fastenal’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.25 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 29th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 84.62%.

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.