Employees Retirement System of Texas Increases Stock Holdings in Fastenal Company $FAST

Employees Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 780.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,146,011 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,015,811 shares during the period. Employees Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Fastenal were worth $45,989,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $496,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 2.4% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 6,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $487,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 2nd quarter valued at $158,000. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,199,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 111.0% in the 2nd quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 3,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,000 after acquiring an additional 1,771 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 36,920 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.34, for a total value of $1,747,792.80. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 40,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,893,600. This trade represents a 48.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Fastenal Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $44.45 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $45.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.77. Fastenal Company has a 1-year low of $38.97 and a 1-year high of $50.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 2.34. The firm has a market cap of $51.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.75.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 13th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.39% and a return on equity of 33.25%. The firm had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. Fastenal’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 1.23 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 28th were given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 28th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 84.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FAST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $48.00 to $55.00 in a report on Monday, April 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Wolfe Research cut their target price on shares of Fastenal from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Friday, March 27th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.77.

About Fastenal

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.