Marshall Financial Group LLC Acquires New Stake in Fastenal Company $FAST

Key Points

• Marshall Financial Group LLC has invested $943,000 in Fastenal Company, acquiring 22,197 shares during the second quarter.
• Institutional investors own 81.38% of Fastenal's stock, with several firms significantly increasing their holdings in the first quarter of this year.
• Fastenal reported a quarterly revenue of $2.08 billion, exceeding analysts' expectations and representing an 8.6% increase from the previous year.

Marshall Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 22,197 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $943,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Fastenal by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 73,317,271 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,685,754,000 after buying an additional 1,016,479 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,615,915 shares of the company's stock worth $1,753,864,000 after purchasing an additional 1,850,871 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Fastenal by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,418,765 shares of the company's stock valued at $652,875,000 after purchasing an additional 142,972 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Fastenal by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,591,850 shares of the company's stock valued at $511,198,000 after purchasing an additional 168,830 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in Fastenal by 11.5% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 5,933,636 shares of the company's stock worth $460,153,000 after purchasing an additional 613,254 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Trading Up 0.8%

NASDAQ:FAST traded up $0.36 on Friday, hitting $47.58. 13,747,553 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,443,559. The stock has a market cap of $54.60 billion, a PE ratio of 45.75, a PEG ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.97. Fastenal Company has a fifty-two week low of $34.69 and a fifty-two week high of $50.63. The company has a current ratio of 4.22, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $47.84 and a 200-day moving average of $42.93.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.01. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.33% and a net margin of 15.30%.The company had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.07 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.25 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th were issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 29th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 84.62%.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.05, for a total value of $2,341,188.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 11,880 shares of the company's stock, valued at $570,834. This trade represents a 80.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.03, for a total transaction of $1,662,414.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 111,230 shares of company stock valued at $5,288,364. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on FAST. Wolfe Research restated a "positive" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Stephens boosted their target price on Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Fastenal from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Loop Capital reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Fastenal presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $46.82.

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.