Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 2,262 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Kentucky Retirement Systems lessened its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 4.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,457 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,262 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Fastenal were worth $3,352,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of FAST. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 900,171 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,304,000 after acquiring an additional 31,814 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 66,646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,317,000 after acquiring an additional 6,178 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 178.1% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 78,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,054,000 after acquiring an additional 49,972 shares in the last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 12,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $801,000 after acquiring an additional 874 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 5,493 shares of the company’s stock valued at $350,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. HSBC raised their target price on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 target price (down from $85.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $56.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $66.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP James C. Jansen sold 11,428 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total value of $732,191.96. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,176 shares in the company, valued at $1,677,096.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu acquired 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $63.28 per share, with a total value of $31,640.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $221,480. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP James C. Jansen sold 11,428 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total transaction of $732,191.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,176 shares in the company, valued at $1,677,096.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Fastenal Stock Performance

FAST stock traded up $1.69 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $70.37. 2,997,479 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,382,875. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Fastenal has a 1-year low of $53.83 and a 1-year high of $79.04. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $65.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $68.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.29 billion, a PE ratio of 35.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.01.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 12th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 33.54%. The company had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th will be given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 26th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 77.61%.

Fastenal 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.