Fastenal Company $FAST Stock Sold by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lowered its holdings in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 5.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 304,895 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,303 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $15,101,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Evergreen Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky acquired a new position in Fastenal in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal in the second quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Paladin Partners LLC purchased a new position in Fastenal during the second quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Price Performance

FAST opened at $55.49 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $50.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.59. Fastenal Company has a 12-month low of $38.97 and a 12-month high of $55.62. The firm has a market cap of $63.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.75, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 3.93, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 14th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.44 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.62% and a return on equity of 35.13%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.29 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 1.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 28th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 28th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 83.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on FAST shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $47.00 price target (up from $42.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Argus increased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $51.00 price objective for the company. Finally, DA Davidson set a $51.00 target price on shares of Fastenal and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.46.

About Fastenal

Fastenal Company is a distributor of industrial and construction supplies, serving businesses that need products to maintain facilities, support production and complete building projects. Its offerings include fasteners such as screws, nuts and bolts, as well as safety supplies, tools and other maintenance, repair and operations products. In addition to product distribution, Fastenal provides services designed to help customers manage supplies and purchasing. These include inventory management, on-site support and industrial vending solutions that make frequently used items available at customer facilities.