Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Sold by Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC

Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 6.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor 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 SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Fastenal by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $545,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 2,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Compass Ion Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.5% in the third quarter. Compass Ion Advisors LLC now owns 9,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $709,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in Fastenal by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,359 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,000 after buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sara Bay Financial boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.3% during the second quarter. Sara Bay Financial now owns 11,872 shares of the company’s stock valued at $746,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $81.80 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $75.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.33. The company has a market capitalization of $46.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.70, a PEG ratio of 4.80 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 4.40, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $59.47 and a twelve month high of $84.88.

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

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. 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%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FAST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $86.00 target price (up from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Stephens raised their target price on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.80.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, VP John Lewis Soderberg sold 488 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.32, for a total transaction of $37,244.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 31,818 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total value of $2,688,621.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,168,521. This trade represents a 10.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 254,033 shares of company stock valued at $19,240,434 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

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.