Arizona State Retirement System Raises Stock Holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 1.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,609 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $1,000,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 775,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $78,476,000 after buying an additional 100,000 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the fourth quarter worth approximately $56,088,000. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct during the 1st quarter valued at $775,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 183.6% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 22,323 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,142,000 after buying an additional 14,451 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the 1st quarter worth $16,571,000. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MSM shares. Baird R W lowered shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $81.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $95.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $90.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Kimberly Shacklett sold 4,885 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.60, for a total transaction of $413,271.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,897 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,091,086.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 18.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Up 1.0 %

MSC Industrial Direct stock opened at $79.48 on Friday. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a one year low of $75.05 and a one year high of $105.77. The stock has a market cap of $4.46 billion, a PE ratio of 15.43 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 2.01. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $81.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $87.45.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 2nd. The industrial products company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33. The company had revenue of $979.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $979.10 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 7.44% and a return on equity of 21.31%. MSC Industrial Direct’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.74 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 4.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th were given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.18%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.47%.

About MSC Industrial Direct

MSC Industrial Direct Co, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, distributes metalworking and maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) products and services in the United States, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company's MRO products include cutting tools, measuring instruments, tooling components, metalworking products, fasteners, flat stock products, raw materials, abrasives, machinery hand and power tools, safety and janitorial supplies, plumbing supplies, materials handling products, power transmission components, and electrical supplies.