Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Acquires 384,482 Shares of Fastenal Company $FAST

Key Points

• The Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its holdings in **Fastenal Company** by **115.5%**, acquiring an additional **384,482 shares**, bringing its total ownership to **717,383 shares** valued at approximately **$30.13 million**.
• Insider trading activity has been notable, with CFO **Sheryl Ann Lisowski** selling **21,052 shares** and EVP **William Joseph Drazkowski** offloading **6,842 shares**, indicating a significant decrease in their positions.
• Fastenal reported a **$0.29 EPS** for the latest quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a **net margin of 15.30%** and an **8.6% increase** in quarterly revenue compared to the previous year.

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 115.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 717,383 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 384,482 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio owned about 0.06% of Fastenal worth $30,130,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. lifted its stake in Fastenal by 100.0% during the second quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 696 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 95.0% during the second quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 702 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 4,900.0% during the second quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 750 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 735 shares in the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 86.3% during the second quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 842 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1248 Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the first quarter worth $36,000. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other news, CFO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 21,052 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.21, for a total transaction of $951,760.92. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 10,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at $460,780.32. This represents a 67.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total transaction of $333,000.14. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 11,994 shares in the company, valued at $583,747.98. This trade represents a 36.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 111,230 shares of company stock worth $5,288,364 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FAST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 price target on shares of Fastenal and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Wolfe Research reiterated a "positive" rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 14th. Stephens upped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $46.82.

Fastenal Stock Performance

NASDAQ FAST opened at $47.54 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 4.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a market capitalization of $54.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.71, a PEG ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.97. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.07. Fastenal Company has a twelve month low of $34.69 and a twelve month high of $50.63.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.07 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 32.33%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.25 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 29th. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio is 84.62%.

About Fastenal

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.

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