Treasurer of the State of North Carolina Grows Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 270,482 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 13,150 shares during the quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina's holdings in Fastenal were worth $19,450,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth approximately $46,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth $49,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth about $68,000. Finally, Eastern Bank raised its holdings in Fastenal by 440.7% in the 4th quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 984 shares of the company's stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 802 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Price Performance

FAST stock traded up $0.35 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $81.65. 3,135,946 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,095,173. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $75.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $76.43. The company has a market capitalization of $46.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $61.36 and a 52-week high of $84.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.67 and a quick ratio of 2.28.

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Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.52. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The firm had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.52 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 25th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. This is a boost from Fastenal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio is currently 87.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fastenal news, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 15,000 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Monday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.31, for a total value of $1,219,650.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,997 shares in the company, valued at approximately $487,616.07. The trade was a 71.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Fastenal from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus decreased 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. Wolfe Research upgraded Fastenal from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, William Blair raised Fastenal from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $77.91.

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.