California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 404,032 Shares of Fastenal Company $FAST

Key Points

• CalPERS reduced its Fastenal stake by 10.8% in the first quarter, selling 404,032 shares and leaving it with 3,352,679 shares valued at about $155.6 million.
• Fastenal beat revenue expectations in its latest quarterly results, reporting EPS of $0.33 in line with estimates and revenue of $2.39 billion versus the $2.34 billion forecast, with revenue up 14.7% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.26 per share from $0.24, giving it an annualized payout of $1.04 and a yield of about 2.3%.

California Public Employees Retirement System decreased its position in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 10.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,352,679 shares of the company's stock after selling 404,032 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.29% of Fastenal worth $155,564,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wiregrass Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at $1,020,000. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 1,491,994 shares of the company's stock worth $59,874,000 after purchasing an additional 39,406 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 20.2% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 328,263 shares of the company's stock worth $13,173,000 after buying an additional 55,191 shares during the last quarter. LBP AM SA boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 232,847 shares of the company's stock worth $9,344,000 after buying an additional 24,536 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac bought a new position in Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at about $4,041,000. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on FAST shares. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $48.00 to $55.00 in a report on Monday, April 13th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $55.00 target price on shares of Fastenal and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "underperform" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday. Wolfe Research restated an "underperform" rating and set a $47.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Fastenal from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $48.83.

Fastenal Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of Fastenal stock opened at $45.49 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.72. Fastenal Company has a 52-week low of $38.97 and a 52-week high of $50.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a current ratio of 4.18. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $45.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.18.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33. The firm had revenue of $2.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.45% and a return on equity of 34.03%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.29 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 1.25 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 28th. This is an increase from Fastenal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio is currently 81.36%.

Fastenal Company Profile

Fastenal NASDAQ: FAST is a wholesale distributor of industrial and construction supplies, best known for its broad assortment of fasteners such as bolts, nuts, screws and anchors. Founded in Winona, Minnesota, Fastenal has grown from a regional supplier into a national and international distributor serving a wide range of end markets, including manufacturing, construction, maintenance, repair and operations (MRO), and government customers. The company is publicly traded and operates through a network of locally staffed branches combined with national distribution capabilities.

Product offerings extend beyond fasteners to include tools, safety and personal protective equipment, power transmission components, cutting and welding supplies, janitorial and material handling items, and other industrial consumables.

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