Marshall Wace LLP Increases Stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 4,008.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 756,241 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 737,833 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $47,522,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,928,209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $513,510,000 after purchasing an additional 1,043,529 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Fastenal by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,800,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $310,931,000 after buying an additional 109,028 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in Fastenal by 13.2% in the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 4,420,659 shares of the company’s stock worth $277,794,000 after buying an additional 517,172 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 19.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,837,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,161,000 after buying an additional 636,546 shares during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc boosted its position in Fastenal by 21.2% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 3,248,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $250,617,000 after acquiring an additional 569,118 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Fastenal Stock Down 1.5 %

FAST stock opened at $70.71 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.49 billion, a PE ratio of 35.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 1.01. Fastenal has a 52 week low of $53.94 and a 52 week high of $79.04. The company has a quick ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $68.18 and a 200 day moving average of $68.35.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 12th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51. The firm had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 33.54%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 77.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fastenal news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,929,734.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Fastenal news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,929,734.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total value of $3,116,996.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,489,266.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on FAST shares. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $56.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective (down previously from $85.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $72.00 target price for the company. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.43.

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.