VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Has $43.71 Million Holdings in Fastenal Company $FAST

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al lessened its holdings in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 15.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 891,284 shares of the company’s stock after selling 168,300 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $43,709,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. Patton Fund Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the second quarter worth $229,000. Values First Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 183.0% in the second quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 9,378 shares of the company’s stock valued at $394,000 after purchasing an additional 6,064 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 103.5% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 149,169,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,265,119,000 after purchasing an additional 75,852,223 shares during the period. Optas LLC raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 100.2% during the 2nd quarter. Optas LLC now owns 13,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $576,000 after purchasing an additional 6,863 shares during the period. Finally, Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 127.2% during the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 170,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,161,000 after purchasing an additional 95,453 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on FAST. Wolfe Research raised Fastenal from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating and set a $43.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. UBS Group raised shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $45.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $52.00 target price on shares of Fastenal and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.73.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sarah N. Nielsen acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $39.60 per share, for a total transaction of $39,600.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 5,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $198,000. This trade represents a 25.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $49.58 per share, for a total transaction of $49,580.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $495,800. This represents a 11.11% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders purchased 3,000 shares of company stock worth $131,630. 0.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Fastenal Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of FAST opened at $40.87 on Wednesday. Fastenal Company has a 1-year low of $35.31 and a 1-year high of $50.63. The company has a market capitalization of $46.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.26 and a quick ratio of 2.19. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $41.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.43.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The company reported $0.29 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 return on equity of 32.69% and a net margin of 15.34%.Fastenal’s quarterly revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.26 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 28th were given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 28th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 82.24%.

Fastenal Company Profile

Fastenal (NASDAQ: FAST) is a wholesale distributor of industrial and construction supplies, best known for its broad assortment of fasteners such as bolts, nuts, screws and anchors. Founded in Winona, Minnesota, Fastenal has grown from a regional supplier into a national and international distributor serving a wide range of end markets, including manufacturing, construction, maintenance, repair and operations (MRO), and government customers. The company is publicly traded and operates through a network of locally staffed branches combined with national distribution capabilities.

Product offerings extend beyond fasteners to include tools, safety and personal protective equipment, power transmission components, cutting and welding supplies, janitorial and material handling items, and other industrial consumables.