Freedom Investment Management Inc. Purchases 2,961 Shares of Fastenal Company $FAST

Freedom Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 65.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,474 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,961 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $314,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at about $496,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Fastenal by 11.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 21,847 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,694,000 after buying an additional 2,240 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Fastenal by 5,661.5% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 749 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 736 shares in the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Fastenal by 223.0% during the first quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,715 shares of the company’s stock worth $753,000 after buying an additional 6,707 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Fastenal by 45.6% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 16,023 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,243,000 after buying an additional 5,015 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Fastenal Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $42.87 on Monday. Fastenal Company has a 1 year low of $35.31 and a 1 year high of $50.63. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $47.27 and a 200-day moving average of $44.29. The company has a current ratio of 4.26, a quick ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.94.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 13th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.01). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.34% and a return on equity of 32.69%. The firm had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.26 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 28th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 28th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 82.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on FAST. Loop Capital reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wolfe Research reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 target price on Fastenal and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Fastenal from $53.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total value of $333,000.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 11,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $583,747.98. The trade was a 36.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.05, for a total transaction of $2,341,188.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 11,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $570,834. This trade represents a 80.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 90,178 shares of company stock worth $4,336,603. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.