Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Has $22.08 Million Position in Fastenal Company $FAST

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lessened its stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 7.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 475,803 shares of the company’s stock after selling 39,072 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $22,077,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at $646,046,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 243.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,095,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $485,380,000 after acquiring an additional 8,574,208 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 106.1% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 15,431,393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $648,118,000 after acquiring an additional 7,943,217 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 14.0% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,215,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $893,307,000 after acquiring an additional 2,242,116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its position in Fastenal by 1,039.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 2,337,722 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,253,000 after purchasing an additional 2,132,593 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $46.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Fastenal from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $48.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $55.00 price target on shares of Fastenal and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $47.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.83.

Fastenal Trading Up 1.9%

NASDAQ FAST opened at $47.02 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $45.35. The company has a market capitalization of $53.96 billion, a PE ratio of 39.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 4.18, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Fastenal Company has a 12 month low of $38.97 and a 12 month high of $50.63.

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

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 28th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.36%.

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.