Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC Buys 19,345 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,626,193 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 19,345 shares during the period. Fastenal comprises about 2.2% of Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC owned about 0.28% of Fastenal worth $116,143,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of FAST. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in Fastenal in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Central Valley Advisors LLC bought a new position in Fastenal in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Fastenal in the second quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 528.4% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 509 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.68, for a total value of $3,484,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,929,734.24. This trade represents a 14.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 680 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.86, for a total transaction of $52,944.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 208,289 shares of company stock worth $16,123,438. Insiders own 0.41% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on FAST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $88.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Stephens upped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $74.80.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.8 %

FAST stock traded up $0.67 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $83.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,876,455 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,291,718. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.40 and a quick ratio of 2.29. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $59.47 and a twelve month high of $84.88. The company's fifty day moving average price is $76.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.67, a PEG ratio of 4.87 and a beta of 0.99.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 33.30%. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.52 EPS. The company's revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th were paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. Fastenal's payout ratio is currently 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.