California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 54,829 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

California Public Employees Retirement System cut its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,509,384 shares of the company’s stock after selling 54,829 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.61% of Fastenal worth $227,303,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in Fastenal by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 900,171 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,304,000 after buying an additional 31,814 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth about $13,204,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Fastenal by 178.1% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 78,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,054,000 after acquiring an additional 49,972 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Fastenal during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,293,000. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its position in Fastenal by 77.7% in the 4th quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 1,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Fastenal Stock Performance

FAST traded up $0.51 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $67.96. 618,561 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,003,356. Fastenal has a 1-year low of $52.28 and a 1-year high of $79.04. The company has a current ratio of 4.83, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $73.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.55.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.01). Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.98% and a net margin of 15.68%. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 24th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In related news, insider William Joseph Drazkowski sold 11,968 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.10, for a total value of $826,988.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,997 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $414,392.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Fastenal news, insider William Joseph Drazkowski sold 11,968 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.10, for a total value of $826,988.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,997 shares in the company, valued at $414,392.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson purchased 3,350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $68.38 per share, with a total value of $229,073.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $724,486.10. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 48,050 shares of company stock valued at $3,411,049 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

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.