Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Position Increased by Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.

Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. grew its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 1.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,350 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,030,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Essex Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 8,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $553,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 19,095 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,237,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Hartford Financial Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 46.9% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 479 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Team Hewins LLC lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 4.8% in the first quarter. Team Hewins LLC now owns 3,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 2.0% in the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 8,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $630,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on FAST. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $56.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 15th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 price target (down from $85.00) on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $66.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fastenal news, EVP James C. Jansen sold 11,428 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total transaction of $732,191.96. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,176 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,677,096.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP James C. Jansen sold 11,428 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total value of $732,191.96. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,176 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,677,096.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu bought 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $63.28 per share, for a total transaction of $31,640.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,500 shares in the company, valued at $221,480. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ FAST traded down $0.20 on Tuesday, hitting $68.08. 926,330 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,720,741. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $65.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 2.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 1.01. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $53.83 and a twelve month high of $79.04.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 12th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.51. The firm had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.91 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.54% and a net margin of 15.54%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. Analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 25th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is presently 77.61%.

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.