Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Takes Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 79,900 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,175,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Hartford Financial Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 46.9% during the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 479 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 131.7% during the 2nd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 600 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 184.9% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 678 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $49,000. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fastenal Price Performance

NASDAQ FAST traded up $0.57 on Friday, hitting $70.45. The company had a trading volume of 6,027,014 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,911,927. The company has a market capitalization of $40.31 billion, a PE ratio of 34.88, a PEG ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 1.05. The company's fifty day moving average price is $73.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $65.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 4.83 and a quick ratio of 2.27. Fastenal has a 12-month low of $50.30 and a 12-month high of $79.04.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.91 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.98% and a net margin of 15.68%. Fastenal's revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 24th. Fastenal's payout ratio is 77.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on FAST. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Fastenal from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $67.00.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 11,076 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total transaction of $832,472.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider William Joseph Drazkowski sold 11,968 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.10, for a total transaction of $826,988.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,997 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $414,392.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Charles S. Miller sold 11,076 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total transaction of $832,472.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 105,682 shares of company stock valued at $7,375,853 over the last 90 days. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.