Boussard & Gavaudan Investment Management LLP Buys Shares of 27,242 Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Boussard & Gavaudan Investment Management LLP purchased a new stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 27,242 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,959,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth $46,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at about $68,000. Finally, Eastern Bank increased its position in Fastenal by 440.7% during the fourth quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 984 shares of the company's stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 802 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on FAST shares. William Blair upgraded shares of Fastenal from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. HSBC lowered shares of Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $76.91.

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Fastenal Price Performance

NASDAQ:FAST traded up $1.57 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $77.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,662,374 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,056,455. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $61.36 and a 52-week high of $84.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 4.67. The business's 50-day moving average is $75.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.98. The company has a market capitalization of $44.58 billion, a PE ratio of 38.62, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.84 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.46 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is a positive change from Fastenal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. Fastenal's payout ratio is 85.57%.

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.