Fenimore Asset Management Inc Raises Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Fenimore Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,848,875 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,978 shares during the quarter. Fastenal accounts for 2.8% of Fenimore Asset Management Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Fenimore Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $132,953,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of FAST. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in Fastenal in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC raised its holdings in Fastenal by 1,019.0% during the third quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in Fastenal during the third quarter worth $36,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC grew its holdings in Fastenal by 51.0% in the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In related news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 31,818 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total value of $2,688,621.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,168,521. This trade represents a 10.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Rita J. Heise sold 10,888 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.67, for a total transaction of $845,670.96. Following the sale, the director now owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,553,400. This represents a 35.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 74,660 shares of company stock worth $6,211,126 in the last quarter. 0.41% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on FAST. Bank of America assumed coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research increased their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.91.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Fastenal stock opened at $75.53 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $77.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.38. Fastenal has a 52 week low of $61.36 and a 52 week high of $84.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.58, a PEG ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 4.67, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1,842,560.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.46 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.57%.

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.