Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Increases Stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 22.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 204,835 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 37,503 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $13,267,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hartford Financial Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 46.9% during the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 479 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 77.7% during the fourth quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 1,084 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacific Center for Financial Services purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the third quarter worth approximately $66,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 5,586 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.34, for a total value of $387,333.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 value of $387,333.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson bought 3,350 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $68.38 per share, for a total transaction of $229,073.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at $724,486.10. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 48,050 shares of company stock worth $3,411,049 over the last three months. 0.41% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on FAST. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Fastenal from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 12th. Loop Capital reduced their price target on Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 15th. HSBC increased their price objective on Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.67.

Fastenal Price Performance

FAST stock traded up $0.33 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $67.78. 1,212,716 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,010,333. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $52.28 and a fifty-two week high of $79.04. The stock has a market cap of $38.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.39, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $73.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a current ratio of 4.83.

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

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

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

Fastenal Company 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.