Townsquare Capital LLC Buys 9,064 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 24.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,574 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,064 shares during the quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC's holdings in Fastenal were worth $3,326,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Central Valley Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal in the second quarter worth $28,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its position in Fastenal by 528.4% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 509 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Fastenal Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST traded down $0.15 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $83.56. 1,346,788 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,272,235. The business's 50-day moving average price is $77.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $70.31. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $59.49 and a 12 month high of $84.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 4.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.57, a P/E/G ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.99.

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

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 25th were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 25th. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio is currently 77.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 13,567 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.19, for a total transaction of $1,033,669.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,096 shares of the company's stock, valued at $388,264.24. This trade represents a 72.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.68, for a total transaction of $3,484,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at $19,929,734.24. This trade represents a 14.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 208,289 shares of company stock valued at $16,123,438. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.