New York State Teachers Retirement System Sells 17,934 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

New York State Teachers Retirement System decreased its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 506,525 shares of the company's stock after selling 17,934 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.09% of Fastenal worth $36,424,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 5.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,989,485 shares of the company's stock worth $1,999,009,000 after purchasing an additional 1,346,863 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Fastenal by 3.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,878,045 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,419,690,000 after buying an additional 608,596 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Fastenal by 5.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,683,751 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,188,251,000 after buying an additional 880,372 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Fastenal by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,718,200 shares of the company's stock worth $336,974,000 after buying an additional 226,126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Fastenal by 3.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,572,999 shares of the company's stock worth $350,703,000 after acquiring an additional 165,423 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. HSBC lowered shares of 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. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $88.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research upped 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued 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 target price of $76.91.

Fastenal Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST traded up $0.31 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $75.12. 556,828 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,954,523. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.07 billion, a PE ratio of 37.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 1.02. The business's 50 day moving average is $74.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.23. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 4.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Fastenal has a one year low of $61.36 and a one year high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The business's revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.46 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. This is an increase from Fastenal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio 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.