Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Sells 3,300 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System decreased its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 72,600 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,300 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $5,221,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Fastenal by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,256 shares of the company’s stock valued at $375,000 after buying an additional 413 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 2,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.9% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 354,618 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,327,000 after purchasing an additional 6,659 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in Fastenal by 42.0% in the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 31,989 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,285,000 after purchasing an additional 9,462 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd raised its stake in Fastenal by 6.1% during the third quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd now owns 68,873 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,919,000 after purchasing an additional 3,937 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. HSBC cut shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group began coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.91.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of FAST stock opened at $73.68 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $75.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.04. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $61.36 and a 52-week high of $84.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 4.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.02.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.46 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.33%. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 85.57%.

Fastenal Company 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.