Marshfield Associates Purchases 10,123 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Marshfield Associates raised its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,011,096 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,123 shares during the period. Fastenal comprises about 3.0% of Marshfield Associates’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Marshfield Associates’ holdings in Fastenal were worth $143,632,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its holdings in Fastenal by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 8,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $619,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.9% in the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $545,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 5.8% in the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 2,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Compass Ion Advisors LLC lifted its position in Fastenal by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Compass Ion Advisors LLC now owns 9,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $709,000 after buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Catalina Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in Fastenal by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,359 shares of the company’s stock worth $240,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, Director Daniel L. Johnson sold 8,474 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.36, for a total transaction of $706,392.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $883,199.20. This represents a 44.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 31,818 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,168,521. This trade represents 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 valued at $16,123,438. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on FAST shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $86.00 price objective (up from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group started coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 target price for the company. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.80.

Fastenal Price Performance

Fastenal stock opened at $80.32 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.96, a PEG ratio of 4.79 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a 50-day moving average of $78.81 and a 200-day moving average of $70.98. 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 1 year low of $61.33 and a 1 year high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 of this dividend was Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 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.