New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 26,000 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

New York State Common Retirement Fund trimmed its holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 592,071 shares of the company’s stock after selling 26,000 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $42,576,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Fastenal in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in Fastenal in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in Fastenal in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Fastenal by 54.1% in the 3rd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 635 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the period. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Fastenal in the 4th quarter worth approximately $68,000. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. HSBC cut Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Hsbc Global Res cut Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wolfe Research upped their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fastenal currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.91.

Fastenal Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $75.14 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $74.37 and its 200 day moving average is $74.23. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $61.36 and a fifty-two week high of $84.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.09 billion, a PE ratio of 37.38, a PEG ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 4.67.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.02). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is 85.57%.

Fastenal 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.