Cantillon Capital Management LLC Acquires 4,513,985 Shares of Fastenal Company $FAST

Key Points

• Cantillon Capital Management LLC significantly increased its stake in Fastenal Company by 94.4%, acquiring an additional 4,513,985 shares, bringing its total to approximately 9.3 million shares.
• Fastenal recently reported an EPS of $0.29 for the quarter, missing the analysts' consensus estimate of $0.30, while its revenue of $2.13 billion met expectations with an 11.7% year-over-year increase.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 2.0%, to be paid out on November 25th, 2023.

Cantillon Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 94.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,298,033 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,513,985 shares during the quarter. Fastenal comprises about 2.3% of Cantillon Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Cantillon Capital Management LLC owned about 0.81% of Fastenal worth $390,517,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $496,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 11.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 21,847 shares of the company's stock worth $1,694,000 after buying an additional 2,240 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 42.4% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 56,836 shares of the company's stock worth $4,408,000 after buying an additional 16,915 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 8.6% during the first quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 265,311 shares of the company's stock worth $20,575,000 after buying an additional 21,047 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the first quarter worth $217,000. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FAST has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $53.00 to $49.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Stephens raised their price target on shares of Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Loop Capital reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Barclays set a $45.00 price target on shares of Fastenal and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $46.50.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of FAST opened at $43.32 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $47.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.10. Fastenal Company has a 1-year low of $35.31 and a 1-year high of $50.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.26 and a quick ratio of 2.19. The stock has a market cap of $49.73 billion, a PE ratio of 40.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.94.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 13th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.01). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.34% and a return on equity of 32.69%. The business had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.26 earnings per share. Fastenal's quarterly revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 28th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio is presently 82.24%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.03, for a total transaction of $1,662,414.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu purchased 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $42.45 per share, for a total transaction of $42,450.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 9,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $382,050. This trade represents a 12.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 90,178 shares of company stock worth $4,336,603. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.