New York State Teachers Retirement System Sells 13,612 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

New York State Teachers Retirement System lowered its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 2.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 534,399 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,612 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $33,582,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. Central Valley Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its position in Fastenal by 2,172.2% during the first quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal during the second quarter valued at about $32,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the second quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the first quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FAST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 price target (down previously from $85.00) on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 15th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $56.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 15th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Fastenal from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fastenal currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $66.67.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In related news, EVP James C. Jansen sold 11,428 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP James C. Jansen sold 11,428 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total value of $3,116,996.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,489,266.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Fastenal Trading Up 0.9 %

Fastenal stock opened at $68.10 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Fastenal has a 52 week low of $53.83 and a 52 week high of $79.04. The company has a market capitalization of $38.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $66.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.86.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 12th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.51. The company had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.91 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.54% and a net margin of 15.54%. Fastenal’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.05 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.