New York State Teachers Retirement System Sells 17,934 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

New York State Teachers Retirement System lessened its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 506,525 shares of the company’s stock after selling 17,934 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.09% of Fastenal worth $36,424,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in FAST. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,989,485 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,999,009,000 after purchasing an additional 1,346,863 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,683,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,188,251,000 after purchasing an additional 880,372 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,878,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,419,690,000 after purchasing an additional 608,596 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1,789.1% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 535,723 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,262,000 after purchasing an additional 507,364 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 59.3% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 928,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,305,000 after purchasing an additional 345,537 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FAST has been the topic of several research reports. Wolfe Research boosted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, HSBC cut shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.91.

Fastenal Price Performance

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $74.78 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $42.88 billion, a PE ratio of 37.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.02. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $61.36 and a 12 month high of $84.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 4.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $74.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $74.05.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. Fastenal’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.57%.

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.