Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Sold by Kentucky Retirement Systems

Kentucky Retirement Systems cut its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 39,352 shares of the company’s stock after selling 542 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Fastenal were worth $2,830,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 54.1% during the third quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 635 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at $68,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $74.78 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 4.67, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a market capitalization of $42.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 1.02. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $61.36 and a twelve month high of $84.88. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.24.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.46 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect 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 will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is 85.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on FAST shares. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. HSBC downgraded Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.