Cantillon Capital Management LLC Has $350.36 Million Stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Cantillon Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 2.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,905,674 shares of the company’s stock after selling 146,462 shares during the period. Fastenal comprises approximately 2.1% of Cantillon Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Cantillon Capital Management LLC owned 0.86% of Fastenal worth $350,363,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 3.4% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,909,206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $371,334,000 after buying an additional 193,734 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Fastenal by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,665,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,179,000 after acquiring an additional 66,130 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.1% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 4,469,636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $319,221,000 after acquiring an additional 48,977 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 19.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,837,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,161,000 after acquiring an additional 636,546 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 2.9% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 3,190,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $200,506,000 after purchasing an additional 91,411 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 13,567 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.19, for a total value of $1,033,669.73. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,096 shares in the company, valued at $388,264.24. This represents a 72.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total transaction of $3,116,996.16. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at $19,489,266.52. The trade was a 13.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 254,033 shares of company stock worth $19,240,434. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of FAST stock opened at $81.80 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.70, a P/E/G 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 has a twelve month low of $59.47 and a twelve month high of $84.88. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $75.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.33.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 33.30%. Fastenal’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.52 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on FAST. UBS Group began coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America started coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently 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.