Fastenal Company $FAST Shares Sold by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lessened its stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 304,895 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,303 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $15,101,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Evergreen Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky purchased a new position in Fastenal in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Fastenal in the second quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Paladin Partners LLC purchased a new position in Fastenal in the second quarter worth approximately $39,000. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of FAST opened at $55.49 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $50.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.59. The company has a quick ratio of 2.11, a current ratio of 3.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a market capitalization of $63.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.66. Fastenal Company has a 52-week low of $38.97 and a 52-week high of $55.62.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 14th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.44 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.62% and a return on equity of 35.13%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.29 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Fastenal Company will post 1.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 28th will be given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 28th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $51.00 price objective on the stock. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Fastenal from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. DA Davidson set a $51.00 target price on shares of Fastenal and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Fastenal from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.46.

About Fastenal

Fastenal Company is a distributor of industrial and construction supplies, serving businesses that need products to maintain facilities, support production and complete building projects. Its offerings include fasteners such as screws, nuts and bolts, as well as safety supplies, tools and other maintenance, repair and operations products. In addition to product distribution, Fastenal provides services designed to help customers manage supplies and purchasing. These include inventory management, on-site support and industrial vending solutions that make frequently used items available at customer facilities.