Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Bought by Marshfield Associates

Marshfield Associates grew its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 0.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,011,096 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,123 shares during the period. Fastenal makes up approximately 3.0% of Marshfield Associates' portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Marshfield Associates owned about 0.35% of Fastenal worth $143,632,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of FAST. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 528.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1,019.0% in the third quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 470 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $86.00 target price (up from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. 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.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $76.80.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST traded down $0.55 on Tuesday, hitting $79.77. The company had a trading volume of 2,895,728 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,250,678. The company has a current ratio of 4.40, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $61.33 and a 52-week high of $84.88. The business has a 50 day moving average of $78.81 and a 200 day moving average of $70.98. The company has a market cap of $45.70 billion, a PE ratio of 39.69, a PEG ratio of 4.79 and a beta of 1.00.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 33.30% and a net margin of 15.44%. The business had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 25th were paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. Fastenal's payout ratio is currently 77.61%.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In related news, CAO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 13,567 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.19, for a total value of $1,033,669.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,096 shares in the company, valued at approximately $388,264.24. This represents a 72.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 31,818 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,168,521. The trade was a 10.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 208,289 shares of company stock worth $16,123,438. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Fastenal 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.