California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 404,032 Shares of Fastenal Company $FAST

California Public Employees Retirement System cut its stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 10.8% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,352,679 shares of the company’s stock after selling 404,032 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $155,564,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Evergreen Advisors LLC bought a new position in Fastenal in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Palladiem LLC purchased a new position in Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the third quarter worth about $36,000. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of FAST opened at $45.49 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $52.22 billion, a PE ratio of 38.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 4.18, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $45.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.18. Fastenal Company has a 12-month low of $38.97 and a 12-month high of $50.63.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.33. The company had revenue of $2.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 34.03% and a net margin of 15.45%.Fastenal’s revenue was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.29 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Fastenal Company will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 28th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $55.00 target price on shares of Fastenal and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $48.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Fastenal from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.83.

Fastenal Company Profile

Fastenal (NASDAQ: FAST) is a wholesale distributor of industrial and construction supplies, best known for its broad assortment of fasteners such as bolts, nuts, screws and anchors. Founded in Winona, Minnesota, Fastenal has grown from a regional supplier into a national and international distributor serving a wide range of end markets, including manufacturing, construction, maintenance, repair and operations (MRO), and government customers. The company is publicly traded and operates through a network of locally staffed branches combined with national distribution capabilities.

Product offerings extend beyond fasteners to include tools, safety and personal protective equipment, power transmission components, cutting and welding supplies, janitorial and material handling items, and other industrial consumables.