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

New York State Common Retirement Fund decreased its holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 592,071 shares of the company's stock after selling 26,000 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.10% of Fastenal worth $42,576,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 54.1% during the third quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 635 shares of the company's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at $68,000. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on FAST shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wolfe Research boosted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, HSBC lowered Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Fastenal currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $76.91.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ FAST traded down $0.36 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $74.78. The company had a trading volume of 3,347,592 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,008,088. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 4.67. The company has a market capitalization of $42.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.20, a PEG ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $74.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.24. Fastenal has a 12-month low of $61.36 and a 12-month high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.46 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This is an increase from Fastenal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.57%.

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.