California Public Employees Retirement System Lowers Position in Fastenal Company $FAST

California Public Employees Retirement System decreased its position in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 16.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,578,356 shares of the company’s stock after selling 708,384 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.31% of Fastenal worth $175,483,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FAST. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Fastenal by 1.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 151,515,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,430,322,000 after buying an additional 2,346,045 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 99.6% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,317,385 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,281,330,000 after acquiring an additional 27,107,520 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 103.4% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 45,995,937 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,931,830,000 after acquiring an additional 23,380,022 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,215,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $893,307,000 after purchasing an additional 2,242,116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 15,604,974 shares of the company’s stock valued at $765,268,000 after purchasing an additional 173,581 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fastenal Price Performance

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $45.46 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $44.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.10. Fastenal Company has a 12 month low of $35.31 and a 12 month high of $50.63. The firm has a market cap of $52.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 4.85, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.26. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.83% and a net margin of 15.35%.The business had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.46 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 29th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 29th. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 87.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on FAST. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $46.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Raymond James Financial set a $48.00 target price on Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $52.00 price target on shares of Fastenal and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Fastenal currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 36,920 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 40,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,893,600. This represents a 48.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Scott Satterlee sold 15,964 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.19, for a total transaction of $705,449.16. Following the transaction, the director owned 50,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,209,500. The trade was a 24.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Fastenal Company Profile

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.