D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Acquires 53,783 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) by 207.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 79,741 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 53,783 shares during the quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned approximately 0.14% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $5,956,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 20,179 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,507,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,325 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $174,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc raised its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 54,138 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,044,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 38,611 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,884,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 54.0% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 476 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.26% of the company's stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

MSM traded down $0.27 on Thursday, hitting $78.75. 42,005 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 638,678. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.10 and a twelve month high of $91.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $77.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $79.91. The firm has a market cap of $4.39 billion, a PE ratio of 18.78 and a beta of 0.90.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 3rd. The industrial products company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.04. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 6.21% and a return on equity of 17.80%. The firm had revenue of $891.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $908.30 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.18 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th were given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.32%. MSC Industrial Direct's dividend payout ratio is currently 89.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on MSM. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Sunday, April 6th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price target on MSC Industrial Direct from $83.00 to $74.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $82.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSC Industrial Direct

In other MSC Industrial Direct news, Director Mitchell Jacobson bought 27,642 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 8th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $69.77 per share, for a total transaction of $1,928,582.34. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,951,725 shares in the company, valued at approximately $136,171,853.25. This trade represents a 1.44% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 18.30% of the company's stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Profile

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.