Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Sold by State of Michigan Retirement System

State of Michigan Retirement System cut its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 166,378 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,200 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $11,964,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the third quarter worth $36,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on FAST. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price target for the company. HSBC cut shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res lowered Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Fastenal has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.91.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST opened at $74.49 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $42.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.02. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $61.36 and a 1 year high of $84.88. The company has a current ratio of 4.67, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $74.82.

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

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 85.57%.

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.