Moors & Cabot Inc. Has $543,000 Stock Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Moors & Cabot Inc. lowered its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 6.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,213 shares of the company’s stock after selling 658 shares during the quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $543,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 18.3% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,407,839 shares of the company’s stock worth $786,655,000 after purchasing an additional 2,075,023 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. grew its holdings in Fastenal by 15.3% during the 2nd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 925,519 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,596,000 after acquiring an additional 122,845 shares during the last quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Fastenal by 101.9% during the 2nd quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC now owns 77,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,340,000 after acquiring an additional 39,054 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in Fastenal by 8.1% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 23,427 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,382,000 after acquiring an additional 1,761 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Burney Co. grew its holdings in Fastenal by 17.8% during the 2nd quarter. Burney Co. now owns 10,677 shares of the company’s stock worth $630,000 after acquiring an additional 1,612 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.47% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $60.75 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.71 billion, a PE ratio of 30.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 4.71, a quick ratio of 2.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $45.70 and a 1 year high of $61.25. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $57.19 and its 200-day moving average is $56.75.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 12th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.02. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.57% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The business had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.50 EPS. Fastenal’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 25th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 70.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FAST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. HSBC initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Friday, September 15th. They set a “hold” rating and a $59.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Fastenal from $61.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Fastenal presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $57.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 19,564 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.78, for a total transaction of $1,110,843.92. Following the transaction, the director now owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,135,600. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Fastenal news, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 19,564 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.78, for a total transaction of $1,110,843.92. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,135,600. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 17,296 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.01, for a total transaction of $1,037,932.96. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,096 shares in the company, valued at $305,810.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 120,192 shares of company stock valued at $6,978,101 in the last 90 days. 0.45% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Fastenal

Fastenal Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the wholesale distribution of industrial and construction supplies in the United States, Canada, Mexico, 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, which are used in manufactured products and construction projects, as well as in the maintenance and repair of machines.