State of Michigan Retirement System Buys 168,178 Shares of Fastenal Company $FAST

State of Michigan Retirement System increased its stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 101.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 334,656 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 168,178 shares during the quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $14,056,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of FAST. Riverview Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 584 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the period. Hilltop National Bank bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 111.9% in the 2nd quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 642 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the period. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. grew its stake in Fastenal by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its stake in Fastenal by 95.0% in the 2nd quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total value of $333,000.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 11,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $583,747.98. The trade was a 36.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.05, for a total transaction of $2,341,188.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 11,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $570,834. This trade represents a 80.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 90,178 shares of company stock worth $4,336,603. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on FAST. Barclays set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Wolfe Research reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $53.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.50.

Fastenal Trading Down 1.0%

Fastenal stock opened at $41.15 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $47.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.46, a PEG ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.94. Fastenal Company has a fifty-two week low of $35.31 and a fifty-two week high of $50.63. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $46.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.19 and a current ratio of 4.26.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 13th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.69% and a net margin of 15.34%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.26 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 28th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 28th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.24%.

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.