Fastenal Company $FAST Shares Acquired by Aberdeen Group plc

Aberdeen Group plc boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 19.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,900,794 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 310,257 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned approximately 0.17% of Fastenal worth $92,854,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 197.5% during the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 96.1% during the second quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 712 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 349 shares during the period. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. grew its holdings in Fastenal by 71.6% in the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 611 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, REAP Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other news, Director Scott Satterlee sold 15,964 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.19, for a total transaction of $705,449.16. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 50,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,209,500. The trade was a 24.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Sarah N. Nielsen purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $39.60 per share, for a total transaction of $39,600.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 5,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $198,000. The trade was a 25.00% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on FAST shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $46.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $52.00 price target on shares of Fastenal and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.18.

Fastenal Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $46.41 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 4.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Fastenal Company has a 12 month low of $35.31 and a 12 month high of $50.63. The company has a market cap of $53.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.42.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.26. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.35% and a return on equity of 32.83%. The business had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.46 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 29th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 29th. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is presently 87.27%.

About Fastenal

Fastenal (NASDAQ: FAST) is a wholesale distributor of industrial and construction supplies, best known for its broad assortment of fasteners such as bolts, nuts, screws and anchors. Founded in Winona, Minnesota, Fastenal has grown from a regional supplier into a national and international distributor serving a wide range of end markets, including manufacturing, construction, maintenance, repair and operations (MRO), and government customers. The company is publicly traded and operates through a network of locally staffed branches combined with national distribution capabilities.

Product offerings extend beyond fasteners to include tools, safety and personal protective equipment, power transmission components, cutting and welding supplies, janitorial and material handling items, and other industrial consumables.