Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey Has $7.32 Million Position in Fastenal Company $FAST

Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 109.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 174,250 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 90,880 shares during the period. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $7,318,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Welch & Forbes LLC increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 32,992 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,559,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 2.4% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 6,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $487,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 3.1% in the first quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 5,057 shares of the company’s stock valued at $392,000 after buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 5.8% in the first quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 3,407 shares of the company’s stock valued at $264,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Investment Consultants LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 3.5% in the first quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 5,666 shares of the company’s stock valued at $439,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FAST has been the topic of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Fastenal from $53.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Tuesday. They set an “underperform” rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wolfe Research raised Fastenal from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating and set a $43.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.32.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.5%

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $40.75 on Friday. Fastenal Company has a 1 year low of $35.31 and a 1 year high of $50.63. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $44.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.37. The stock has a market cap of $46.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.08, a PEG ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 4.26, a quick ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.01). Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.69% and a net margin of 15.34%.The business had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.26 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 28th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 28th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is 82.24%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $42.45 per share, for a total transaction of $42,450.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 9,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $382,050. The trade was a 12.50% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.37% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.