abrdn plc Trims Stock Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

abrdn plc lessened its holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 16.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 228,375 shares of the company's stock after selling 46,194 shares during the period. abrdn plc's holdings in Fastenal were worth $16,472,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC grew its stake in Fastenal by 1,019.0% during the third quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 470 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in Fastenal during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC grew its stake in Fastenal by 51.0% during the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 533 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of Fastenal stock traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $73.71. The company's stock had a trading volume of 831,518 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,172,739. Fastenal has a one year low of $61.36 and a one year high of $84.88. The company has a market capitalization of $42.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.02. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $75.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $73.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 4.67.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.46 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. This is an increase from Fastenal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio is currently 85.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FAST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $88.00 price objective for the company. Wolfe Research increased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. HSBC downgraded shares of Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $76.91.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Daniel L. Johnson sold 8,474 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.36, for a total value of $706,392.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at $883,199.20. This trade represents a 44.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,480 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.92, for a total transaction of $1,970,441.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.