Amundi Has $174.96 Million Stake in Fastenal Company $FAST

Key Points

• Amundi increased its stake in Fastenal by 16.3%, owning approximately 2.25 million shares valued at $174.95 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Fastenal reported a quarterly revenue of $2.08 billion, surpassing expectations, with an EPS of $0.29 compared to a consensus estimate of $0.28.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 with a current yield of 1.8%, despite a dividend payout ratio of 84.62%.

Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 16.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,247,162 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 315,660 shares during the quarter. Amundi owned approximately 0.39% of Fastenal worth $174,955,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 1248 Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 5,330.0% in the 1st quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 543 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 1st quarter valued at about $49,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 1st quarter valued at about $57,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 5,661.5% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 749 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 736 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Fastenal stock traded up $0.20 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $48.19. 6,021,271 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,541,757. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.32. Fastenal Company has a fifty-two week low of $32.99 and a fifty-two week high of $50.63. The stock has a market cap of $55.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.34, a P/E/G ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.22 and a quick ratio of 2.12.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last announced 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 business had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.25 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th were given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 29th. Fastenal's payout ratio is presently 84.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In related news, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.03, for a total value of $1,662,414.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total transaction of $333,000.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 11,994 shares in the company, valued at $583,747.98. This trade represents a 36.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, 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 Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on FAST shares. Wolfe Research reaffirmed a "positive" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 price target on shares of Fastenal and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Stephens raised their target price on shares of Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.