State of Tennessee Department of Treasury Has $9.44 Million Stock Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 75.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 131,288 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 56,253 shares during the quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury's holdings in Fastenal were worth $9,441,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 4,134 shares of the company's stock valued at $297,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Fastenal by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,674 shares of the company's stock worth $840,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its stake in Fastenal by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 28,573 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,055,000 after buying an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,985 shares of the company's stock valued at $215,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC grew its position in Fastenal by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 21,857 shares of the company's stock worth $1,572,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FAST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Fastenal from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Stifel Nicolaus cut 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 report on Thursday, April 3rd. Stephens increased 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, April 15th. Finally, William Blair raised shares of Fastenal from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fastenal currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $79.10.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.0 %

Fastenal stock traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $80.08. The stock had a trading volume of 879,373 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,087,695. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $61.36 and a 12 month high of $84.88. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $77.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $77.12. The company has a current ratio of 4.67, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.93 billion, a PE ratio of 39.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05.

Fastenal shares are set to split on Thursday, May 22nd. The 2-1 split was announced on Wednesday, April 23rd. The newly created shares will be issued to shareholders after the closing bell on Wednesday, May 21st.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The company had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. Fastenal's revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This is an increase from Fastenal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 25th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio is currently 87.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 5,568 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.19, for a total transaction of $452,065.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.31, for a total transaction of $1,219,650.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,997 shares in the company, valued at $487,616.07. This trade represents a 71.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 70,568 shares of company stock valued at $5,777,716. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

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.