Retirement Systems of Alabama Cuts Stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lessened its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 125,933 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,251 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $8,157,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. Hartford Financial Management Inc. grew its stake in Fastenal by 46.9% during the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. Pacific Center for Financial Services bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the third quarter worth about $66,000. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 77.7% in the fourth quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 1,084 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Fastenal Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of FAST opened at $68.43 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $73.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.01. The company has a market cap of $39.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 4.83, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $52.85 and a twelve month high of $79.04.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.91 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.98% and a net margin of 15.68%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.12 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 25th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 24th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 77.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. HSBC raised their target price on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Fastenal presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.67.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In related news, Director Daniel L. Johnson purchased 3,350 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $68.38 per share, with a total value of $229,073.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $724,486.10. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Fastenal news, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 5,586 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.34, for a total value of $387,333.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson purchased 3,350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $68.38 per share, for a total transaction of $229,073.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $724,486.10. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 36,082 shares of company stock worth $2,584,060. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.