Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Grows Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 44,431 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 832 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $2,878,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hartford Financial Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 46.9% during the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 479 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. acquired a new position in Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth $43,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Fastenal by 283.2% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacific Center for Financial Services purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal in the third quarter valued at $66,000. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fastenal Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of FAST traded up $0.35 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $66.76. The company had a trading volume of 527,146 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,925,267. The stock has a market cap of $38.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 4.83, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $67.29. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $52.86 and a fifty-two week high of $79.04.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.91 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.68% and a return on equity of 33.98%. Fastenal’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 24th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.23%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Daniel L. Johnson acquired 3,350 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $68.38 per share, for a total transaction of $229,073.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $724,486.10. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 11,076 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total value of $832,472.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson bought 3,350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $68.38 per share, for a total transaction of $229,073.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $724,486.10. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on FAST shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. HSBC raised their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Fastenal from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.33.

Fastenal Company 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.