MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Shares Acquired by Royce & Associates LP

Royce & Associates LP lifted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 76.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 424,437 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 183,343 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $31,701,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 8,289.7% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 17,031 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,466,000 after acquiring an additional 16,828 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 36.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 25,490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,195,000 after acquiring an additional 6,864 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 36.4% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 23,114 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,989,000 after acquiring an additional 6,172 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd boosted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 398.1% during the third quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 15,860 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,365,000 after acquiring an additional 12,676 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 26,035 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,945,000 after acquiring an additional 2,136 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Stephens lowered MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.80.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Up 3.6 %

Shares of NYSE:MSM opened at $77.16 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $80.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.55. The firm has a market cap of $4.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.41 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $72.79 and a 12-month high of $100.35.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The industrial products company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $928.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $904.90 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 6.21%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.25 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th were issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.41%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.15%.

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.