abrdn plc Sells 9,769 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

abrdn plc lessened its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 3.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 274,569 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,769 shares during the quarter. abrdn plc’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $19,558,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in FAST. Semanteon Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Fastenal by 65.9% in the 3rd quarter. Semanteon Capital Management LP now owns 16,695 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,192,000 after buying an additional 6,629 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 74,605.7% in the third quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 26,147 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,866,000 after purchasing an additional 26,112 shares during the last quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 3rd quarter valued at about $213,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 1,063,709 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,786,000 after purchasing an additional 33,025 shares during the period. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 54.1% in the 3rd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 635 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other news, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 680 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.86, for a total transaction of $52,944.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Fastenal news, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 680 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.86, for a total value of $52,944.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP John Lewis Soderberg sold 488 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.32, for a total value of $37,244.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 190,261 shares of company stock valued at $13,874,979. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.2 %

FAST opened at $78.18 on Friday. 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 stock has a market cap of $44.76 billion, a PE ratio of 38.90, a PEG ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a 50 day moving average of $71.74 and a 200-day moving average of $68.18. Fastenal has a 52 week low of $58.04 and a 52 week high of $79.04.

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

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $86.00 target price (up from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 14th. 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Stephens upped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $73.33.

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.