Cantillon Capital Management LLC Cuts Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Cantillon Capital Management LLC decreased its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,905,674 shares of the company's stock after selling 146,462 shares during the period. Fastenal accounts for 2.1% of Cantillon Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Cantillon Capital Management LLC owned 0.86% of Fastenal worth $350,363,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in Fastenal in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Central Valley Advisors LLC bought a new position in Fastenal in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Fastenal in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 528.4% in the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 509 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 428 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In related news, insider William Joseph Drazkowski sold 16,362 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.65, for a total transaction of $1,270,509.30. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,997 shares in the company, valued at $465,667.05. The trade was a 73.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP John Lewis Soderberg sold 488 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.32, for a total transaction of $37,244.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 254,033 shares of company stock worth $19,240,434. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of FAST stock traded down $0.21 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $81.59. The stock had a trading volume of 2,009,489 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,307,879. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $75.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.43. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $59.47 and a 52-week high of $84.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.74 billion, a PE ratio of 40.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.80 and a beta of 0.99. 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 (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 33.30%. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be given a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 25th. Fastenal's payout ratio is 77.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FAST has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $86.00 price objective (up from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Fastenal currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $74.80.

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.