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

Retirement Systems of Alabama lowered its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund 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 quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Hartford Financial Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 46.9% during the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Pacific Center for Financial Services bought a new position in shares of Fastenal in the third quarter worth $66,000. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt grew 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 valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. HSBC increased their price objective on Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In related news, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 5,586 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.34, for a total transaction of $387,333.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 5,586 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.34, for a total transaction 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, VP Charles S. Miller sold 11,076 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total value of $832,472.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 36,082 shares of company stock worth $2,584,060 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of Fastenal stock opened at $68.43 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.01. The firm has a market cap of $39.18 billion, a PE ratio of 33.88, a PEG ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 1.07. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $52.85 and a 1 year high of $79.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 4.83 and a quick ratio of 2.49.

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

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 25th will be given 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%.

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.