Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC Trims Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC lowered its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 6.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,170 shares of the company’s stock after selling 650 shares during the period. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $655,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 3.4% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,909,206 shares of the company’s stock worth $371,334,000 after acquiring an additional 193,734 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 1.4% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,665,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,179,000 after purchasing an additional 66,130 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 1.1% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 4,469,636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $319,221,000 after purchasing an additional 48,977 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Fastenal by 19.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,837,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,161,000 after purchasing an additional 636,546 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 3,190,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $200,506,000 after buying an additional 91,411 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $81.80 on Tuesday. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $59.47 and a 52-week high of $84.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 4.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $75.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.33. The firm has a market cap of $46.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.80 and a beta of 0.99.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.30% and a net margin of 15.44%. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. Fastenal’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 25th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 25th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 77.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $86.00 price objective (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.80.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In related news, VP John Lewis Soderberg sold 488 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.32, for a total transaction of $37,244.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total transaction of $3,116,996.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at $19,489,266.52. This trade represents a 13.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 254,033 shares of company stock valued at $19,240,434. 0.41% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Fastenal 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.