Investment Management Corp of Ontario Purchases 154,667 Shares of Fastenal Company $FAST

Investment Management Corp of Ontario lifted its position in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 174.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 243,200 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 154,667 shares during the quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $10,214,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Riverview Trust Co lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 100.0% during the second quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 584 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 111.9% during the 2nd quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 696 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 348 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research raised shares of Fastenal from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating and set a $43.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Fastenal from $53.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Northcoast Research assumed coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.70.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of FAST opened at $40.80 on Tuesday. Fastenal Company has a 12-month low of $35.31 and a 12-month high of $50.63. 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 company has a market cap of $46.84 billion, a PE ratio of 38.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $42.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $44.42.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.26 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 28th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 28th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 82.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In related news, Director Sarah N. Nielsen bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $39.60 per share, for a total transaction of $39,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $198,000. The trade was a 25.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $49.58 per share, for a total transaction of $49,580.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $495,800. This represents a 11.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders purchased 3,000 shares of company stock valued at $131,630 over the last quarter. 0.37% of the stock is owned by company 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.