Trueblood Wealth Management LLC Cuts Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Trueblood Wealth Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 7.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,467 shares of the company’s stock after selling 847 shares during the period. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $748,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position 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 in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Fastenal by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,665,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $293,179,000 after purchasing an additional 66,130 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in Fastenal by 13.2% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 4,420,659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $277,794,000 after purchasing an additional 517,172 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Fastenal by 19.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,837,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,161,000 after purchasing an additional 636,546 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc raised its position in Fastenal by 21.2% in the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 3,248,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $250,617,000 after purchasing an additional 569,118 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on FAST. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $86.00 price objective (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 14th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.33.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of FAST stock opened at $75.85 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $43.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.74, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $70.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 2.29. Fastenal has a 1-year low of $57.01 and a 1-year high of $79.04.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.54% and a net margin of 15.54%. The business had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

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 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 25th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fastenal news, CAO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 13,567 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.19, for a total transaction of $1,033,669.73. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,096 shares in the company, valued at $388,264.24. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Fastenal news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total value 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. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 13,567 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.19, for a total value of $1,033,669.73. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $388,264.24. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 179,373 shares of company stock worth $13,029,308 over the last ninety days. 0.41% of the stock is owned by 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.