New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 26,000 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

New York State Common Retirement Fund reduced its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 592,071 shares of the company’s stock after selling 26,000 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.10% of Fastenal worth $42,576,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kestra Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 31.4% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 16,715 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,202,000 after purchasing an additional 3,993 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its holdings in Fastenal by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 25,104 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,805,000 after buying an additional 1,841 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in Fastenal by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 199,109 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,318,000 after buying an additional 4,671 shares during the last quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. raised its position in Fastenal by 1,173.7% in the 4th quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 6,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $435,000 after buying an additional 5,575 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KLCM Advisors Inc. raised its position in Fastenal by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 17,140 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,233,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on FAST. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Hsbc Global Res lowered Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group began coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 target price for the company. Finally, HSBC lowered Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.91.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.6 %

Fastenal stock opened at $75.14 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $74.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.23. The company has a market cap of $43.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 1.02. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $61.36 and a 52-week high of $84.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 4.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The company’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.46 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 85.57%.

About Fastenal

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.