New York State Teachers Retirement System Raises Stock Holdings in Fastenal Company $FAST

New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 100.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 968,432 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 484,291 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.08% of Fastenal worth $40,674,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. raised its stake in Fastenal by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. now owns 11,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $465,000 after acquiring an additional 5,536 shares during the last quarter. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Fastenal by 100.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. now owns 25,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,075,000 after purchasing an additional 12,800 shares during the period. Capital Management Corp VA grew its position in Fastenal by 94.3% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Management Corp VA now owns 164,375 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,904,000 after purchasing an additional 79,796 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its position in Fastenal by 105.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 48,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,023,000 after purchasing an additional 24,699 shares during the period. Finally, Private Wealth Asset Management LLC grew its position in Fastenal by 99.3% during the 2nd quarter. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 10,376 shares of the company’s stock worth $436,000 after purchasing an additional 5,170 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other news, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.05, for a total value of $2,341,188.20. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 11,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $570,834. This trade represents a 80.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu acquired 1,000 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 16th. The stock was bought at an average price of $42.45 per share, for a total transaction of $42,450.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 9,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $382,050. This represents a 12.50% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 90,178 shares of company stock valued at $4,336,603. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Fastenal from $53.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.50.

Fastenal Price Performance

FAST stock opened at $41.96 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.26 and a quick ratio of 2.12. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.15 billion, a PE ratio of 39.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 0.94. Fastenal Company has a 1 year low of $35.31 and a 1 year high of $50.63.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 13th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.13 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.34% and a return on equity of 32.69%. Fastenal’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.26 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 28th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 28th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.24%.

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.