3,452 Shares in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Acquired by Lafayette Investments Inc.

Lafayette Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 3,452 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $224,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FAST. Norges Bank bought a new position in Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $268,570,000. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in Fastenal by 37.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,092,207 shares of the company’s stock valued at $430,243,000 after buying an additional 2,492,722 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Fastenal by 47.3% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,691,506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $256,344,000 after buying an additional 1,505,936 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Fastenal by 16.5% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,745,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $368,563,000 after buying an additional 957,091 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Select Equity Group L.P. lifted its stake in Fastenal by 60.2% in the first quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 2,481,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $133,869,000 after buying an additional 933,068 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,590 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.25, for a total transaction of $1,633,607.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,590 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.25, for a total transaction of $1,633,607.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider William Joseph Drazkowski sold 11,968 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.10, for a total value of $826,988.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,997 shares in the company, valued at $414,392.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 71,640 shares of company stock worth $5,044,657 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.2 %

FAST traded up $0.16 during trading on Friday, reaching $67.66. 991,540 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,026,526. The stock has a market cap of $38.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 1.05. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $52.28 and a twelve month high of $79.04. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $73.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a current ratio of 4.83.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.98% and a net margin of 15.68%. Fastenal’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.13 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 24th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 77.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAST has been the topic of a number of research reports. Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 12th. HSBC boosted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.67.

About Fastenal

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.