Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Acquired by Comgest Global Investors S.A.S.

Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. grew its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 73.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 87,081 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 36,742 shares during the period. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $6,219,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of FAST. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 1st quarter valued at $287,000. M&G Plc purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the 1st quarter valued at $11,212,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in Fastenal by 84.5% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 2,735 shares of the company’s stock valued at $210,000 after purchasing an additional 1,253 shares during the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board raised its position in Fastenal by 12.0% in the 1st quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 76,991 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,939,000 after purchasing an additional 8,226 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cynosure Group LLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the 1st quarter valued at $336,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on FAST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target 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. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $86.00 price objective (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fastenal news, Director Daniel L. Johnson sold 8,474 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.36, for a total transaction of $706,392.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $883,199.20. The trade was a 44.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,489,266.52. The trade was a 13.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 254,033 shares of company stock worth $19,240,434. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FAST traded down $0.31 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $81.85. The company had a trading volume of 2,595,550 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,316,257. The company has a quick ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 4.40 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $74.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.99.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

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

Fastenal 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.