Amiral Gestion Takes Position in Fastenal Company $FAST

Amiral Gestion bought a new position in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 35,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,432,000. Fastenal makes up approximately 0.5% of Amiral Gestion’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Fastenal by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 151,515,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,430,322,000 after purchasing an additional 2,346,045 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,558,579 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,433,000 after buying an additional 53,888 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,713,469 shares of the company’s stock valued at $181,626,000 after buying an additional 219,154 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,387,472 shares of the company’s stock worth $362,282,000 after buying an additional 90,095 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 7,923.2% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,268,795 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,222,000 after buying an additional 1,252,981 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on FAST. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $46.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a “positive” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Wolfe Research raised their target price on Fastenal from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $48.00 target price on Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.83.

Fastenal Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $44.95 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.85 and a quick ratio of 2.41. The firm has a market cap of $51.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.88. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $45.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.87. Fastenal Company has a 1-year low of $35.31 and a 1-year high of $50.63.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.83% and a net margin of 15.35%.The company had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.46 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 29th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 29th. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Fastenal’s payout ratio is presently 87.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Scott Satterlee sold 15,964 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.19, for a total value of $705,449.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 50,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,209,500. This trade represents a 24.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 36,920 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.34, for a total transaction of $1,747,792.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,893,600. This trade represents a 48.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

About Fastenal

Fastenal (NASDAQ: FAST) is a wholesale distributor of industrial and construction supplies, best known for its broad assortment of fasteners such as bolts, nuts, screws and anchors. Founded in Winona, Minnesota, Fastenal has grown from a regional supplier into a national and international distributor serving a wide range of end markets, including manufacturing, construction, maintenance, repair and operations (MRO), and government customers. The company is publicly traded and operates through a network of locally staffed branches combined with national distribution capabilities.

Product offerings extend beyond fasteners to include tools, safety and personal protective equipment, power transmission components, cutting and welding supplies, janitorial and material handling items, and other industrial consumables.