Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Grows Stock Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 22.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 204,835 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 37,503 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $13,267,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in Fastenal by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 900,171 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,304,000 after purchasing an additional 31,814 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at about $13,204,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Fastenal by 178.1% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 78,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,054,000 after acquiring an additional 49,972 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Fastenal in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,293,000. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt grew its position in Fastenal by 77.7% in the 4th quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 1,084 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on FAST. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 12th. HSBC raised their price target on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, insider William Joseph Drazkowski sold 11,968 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.10, for a total value of $826,988.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,997 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $414,392.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Fastenal news, Director Daniel L. Johnson bought 3,350 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $68.38 per share, for a total transaction of $229,073.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $724,486.10. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider William Joseph Drazkowski sold 11,968 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.10, for a total transaction of $826,988.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,997 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $414,392.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 48,050 shares of company stock valued at $3,411,049. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of FAST stock traded up $0.33 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $67.78. 1,212,716 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,010,333. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $52.28 and a fifty-two week high of $79.04. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $73.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.55. The company has a market cap of $38.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 4.83 and a quick ratio of 2.49.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.91 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.98% and a net margin of 15.68%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 25th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 24th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is presently 77.23%.

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.