Teacher Retirement System of Texas Reduces Stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas decreased its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 45.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 141,864 shares of the company’s stock after selling 119,091 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Fastenal were worth $10,201,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth about $101,183,000. State Street Corp increased its stake in Fastenal by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,989,485 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,999,009,000 after acquiring an additional 1,346,863 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Fastenal by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 20,765,044 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,493,214,000 after acquiring an additional 886,999 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Fastenal by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,683,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,188,251,000 after acquiring an additional 880,372 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Donaldson Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Fastenal in the 4th quarter worth about $44,836,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of FAST stock opened at $74.73 on Friday. Fastenal has a 1-year low of $61.36 and a 1-year high of $84.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.67 and a quick ratio of 2.28. The business has a 50-day moving average of $75.08 and a 200 day moving average of $75.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.85 billion, a PE ratio of 37.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05.

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

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. HSBC lowered Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. William Blair upgraded Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Hsbc Global Res lowered Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fastenal has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.91.

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.