State of Michigan Retirement System Has $11.96 Million Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

State of Michigan Retirement System decreased its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 166,378 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,200 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $11,964,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the third quarter worth $36,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth $49,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $74.49 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.06, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.02. Fastenal has a one year low of $61.36 and a one year high of $84.88. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $74.82. The company has a current ratio of 4.67, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.46 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Fastenal’s payout ratio is presently 85.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on FAST shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. HSBC downgraded Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Wolfe Research lifted their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.91.

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.