Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Trims Stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. cut its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 77.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 126,579 shares of the company’s stock after selling 433,181 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $9,040,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in FAST. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $545,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 5.8% during the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 2,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Compass Ion Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Fastenal by 1.5% in the third quarter. Compass Ion Advisors LLC now owns 9,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $709,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 4.5% in the third quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,359 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. Finally, Sara Bay Financial boosted its position in Fastenal by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sara Bay Financial now owns 11,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $746,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, CAO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 13,567 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.19, for a total value of $1,033,669.73. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $388,264.24. This trade represents a 72.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP John Lewis Soderberg sold 488 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.32, for a total value of $37,244.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 208,289 shares of company stock worth $16,123,438 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FAST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $86.00 target price (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fastenal currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.80.

Fastenal Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of FAST stock opened at $82.44 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $75.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.60. Fastenal has a 12-month low of $59.47 and a 12-month high of $84.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 4.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a market capitalization of $47.23 billion, a PE ratio of 41.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.78 and a beta of 0.99.

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

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 25th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 77.61%.

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.