Moors & Cabot Inc. Acquires 9,672 Shares of Fastenal Company $FAST

Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 105.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,840 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,672 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $791,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Patton Fund Management Inc. acquired a new position in Fastenal during the 2nd quarter valued at about $229,000. Values First Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 183.0% during the second quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 9,378 shares of the company’s stock worth $394,000 after buying an additional 6,064 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 8.9% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,615,915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,753,864,000 after buying an additional 1,850,871 shares during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its stake in Fastenal by 7.5% in the first quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 181,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,074,000 after acquiring an additional 12,721 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS grew its holdings in Fastenal by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 195,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,180,000 after acquiring an additional 7,400 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Trading Up 0.2%

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $40.85 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.26 and a quick ratio of 2.19. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $45.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.36. Fastenal Company has a fifty-two week low of $35.31 and a fifty-two week high of $50.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.90 billion, a PE ratio of 38.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.92.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 13th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.01). Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.69% and a net margin of 15.34%.The company had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.26 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 28th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 28th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 82.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Loop Capital reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Barclays set a $45.00 target price on Fastenal and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In related news, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu bought 1,000 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $42.45 per share, with a total value of $42,450.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 9,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $382,050. This trade represents a 12.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total value of $333,000.14. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 11,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $583,747.98. This trade represents a 36.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

About Fastenal

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.