Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Stock Position Increased by Moors & Cabot Inc.

Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 10,822 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 261 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $778,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at about $873,000. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 73.0% during the third quarter. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. now owns 87,081 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,219,000 after buying an additional 36,742 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Fastenal by 1.8% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 369,267 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,373,000 after buying an additional 6,488 shares during the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at $1,756,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,572,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $350,703,000 after acquiring an additional 165,423 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fastenal Price Performance

FAST opened at $75.26 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $74.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.24. The company has a current ratio of 4.67, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $61.36 and a 1 year high of $84.88. The stock has a market cap of $43.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.44, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.02). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is 85.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. HSBC cut Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. William Blair raised shares of Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Wolfe Research upped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.91.

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.