Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Has $19.32 Million Stock Holdings in Fastenal Company $FAST

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 62.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 459,968 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 176,520 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $19,319,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 87.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 34,851,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,463,743,000 after buying an additional 16,308,254 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 103.5% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,734,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $408,849,000 after purchasing an additional 4,950,503 shares during the last quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Fastenal by 94.4% in the 2nd quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 9,298,033 shares of the company’s stock valued at $390,517,000 after buying an additional 4,513,985 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 107.2% in the second quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 6,822,973 shares of the company’s stock valued at $286,565,000 after buying an additional 3,530,339 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Provident Trust Co. grew its stake in Fastenal by 98.9% during the second quarter. Provident Trust Co. now owns 5,379,291 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,930,000 after buying an additional 2,674,765 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on FAST. Stephens increased their price objective on Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Loop Capital reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Fastenal from $53.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, August 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. One research 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 given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.50.

Fastenal Stock Performance

FAST opened at $40.85 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.26 and a quick ratio of 2.19. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $44.41. The firm has a market cap of $46.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.18, a PEG ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.92. Fastenal Company has a 1-year low of $35.31 and a 1-year high of $50.63.

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

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 28th will be given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 28th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is presently 82.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fastenal news, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 16th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $42.45 per share, with a total value of $42,450.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 9,000 shares in the company, valued at $382,050. The trade was a 12.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total transaction of $333,000.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 11,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $583,747.98. This trade represents a 36.32% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

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.