Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Reduces Stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado reduced its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 2.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 72,380 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,756 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $4,270,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Fastenal in the 4th quarter worth $268,570,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its holdings in Fastenal by 98,060.7% in the 2nd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 4,908,034 shares of the company’s stock worth $289,525,000 after purchasing an additional 4,903,034 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can bought a new position in Fastenal in the 2nd quarter worth $173,831,000. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Fastenal by 37.8% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,092,207 shares of the company’s stock worth $430,243,000 after purchasing an additional 2,492,722 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Fastenal by 593.9% in the 1st quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,618,888 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,323,000 after purchasing an additional 1,385,581 shares during the period. 78.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fastenal Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of FAST stock opened at $60.11 on Thursday. Fastenal has a 12-month low of $45.70 and a 12-month high of $61.25. The company has a current ratio of 4.71, a quick ratio of 2.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $56.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 1.13.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 12th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.85 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 15.57%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.50 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 26th will be given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 25th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.33%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on FAST shares. HSBC started coverage on Fastenal in a report on Friday, September 15th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $59.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com started coverage on Fastenal in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Fastenal from $61.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $57.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fastenal news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.21, for a total transaction of $1,204,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 282,929 shares in the company, valued at $17,035,155.09. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Fastenal news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.21, for a total transaction of $1,204,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 282,929 shares in the company, valued at $17,035,155.09. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 19,564 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.78, for a total value of $1,110,843.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,135,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 120,192 shares of company stock worth $6,978,101. Corporate insiders own 0.45% of the company’s stock.

About Fastenal

Fastenal Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the wholesale distribution of industrial and construction supplies in the United States, Canada, Mexico, 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, which are used in manufactured products and construction projects, as well as in the maintenance and repair of machines.