Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Increases Stock Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 22.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 204,835 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 37,503 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund's holdings in Fastenal were worth $13,267,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 47.3% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,691,506 shares of the company's stock worth $256,344,000 after purchasing an additional 1,505,936 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 16.5% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,745,302 shares of the company's stock worth $368,563,000 after acquiring an additional 957,091 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 80.0% during the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,600,206 shares of the company's stock worth $87,435,000 after buying an additional 711,265 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,651,629 shares of the company's stock worth $363,445,000 after buying an additional 568,372 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,830,951 shares of the company's stock worth $751,780,000 after buying an additional 423,112 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 19,420 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.25, for a total value of $1,364,255.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,940 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $417,285. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Daniel L. Johnson bought 3,350 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $68.38 per share, for a total transaction of $229,073.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 10,595 shares of the company's stock, valued at $724,486.10. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 19,420 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.25, for a total value of $1,364,255.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,940 shares of the company's stock, valued at $417,285. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 48,050 shares of company stock worth $3,411,049. 0.41% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FAST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 12th. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 15th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Finally, HSBC increased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $67.67.

Fastenal Price Performance

FAST traded up $0.06 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $67.51. The stock had a trading volume of 3,656,771 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,044,057. The company has a market cap of $38.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a fifty day moving average of $73.57 and a 200 day moving average of $66.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a current ratio of 4.83. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $52.28 and a 1 year high of $79.04.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.01). Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.98% and a net margin of 15.68%. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.52 EPS. The business's revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 24th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. Fastenal's payout ratio is presently 77.23%.

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.