Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 312 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Kentucky Retirement Systems decreased its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 0.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,145 shares of the company’s stock after selling 312 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Fastenal were worth $2,711,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Central Valley Advisors LLC bought a new position in Fastenal during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 528.4% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Fastenal during the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on FAST. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $56.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 target price (down from $85.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Fastenal currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.43.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of FAST opened at $70.75 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 4.39. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $68.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $68.49. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $53.83 and a fifty-two week high of $79.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.51 billion, a PE ratio of 35.20, a PEG ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 1.01.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 12th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51. The company had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.54% and a net margin of 15.54%. Fastenal’s revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of Fastenal 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,489,266.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total transaction of $3,116,996.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,489,266.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.68, for a total transaction of $3,484,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,929,734.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Fastenal

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.