Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) by 7.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 298,597 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 19,907 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 0.54% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $23,192,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MSM. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 200,229 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $14,954,000 after buying an additional 32,499 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 307.2% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 74,804 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,587,000 after buying an additional 56,433 shares during the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 207.2% during the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 79,741 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,956,000 after buying an additional 53,783 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 438,393 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $32,743,000 after buying an additional 6,336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in MSC Industrial Direct during the fourth quarter worth about $1,008,000. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
MSM has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $73.00 to $89.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $89.00 price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Zacks Research cut shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $74.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $90.33.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on MSC Industrial Direct
MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance
Shares of MSM stock opened at $91.61 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $5.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.88 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.92. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $68.10 and a 52 week high of $94.31. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $88.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.32.
MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $971.15 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $969.72 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 5.30% and a return on equity of 14.99%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.
MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th were given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. MSC Industrial Direct's payout ratio is currently 96.05%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other MSC Industrial Direct news, SVP Kimberly Shacklett sold 2,130 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.00, for a total value of $195,960.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 14,657 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,348,444. The trade was a 12.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 18.30% of the company's stock.
About MSC Industrial Direct
(
Free Report)
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.
See Also
Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSM? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report).
This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.
Before you consider MSC Industrial Direct, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and MSC Industrial Direct wasn't on the list.
While MSC Industrial Direct currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Wondering what the next stocks will be that hit it big, with solid fundamentals? Enter your email address to see which stocks MarketBeat analysts could become the next blockbuster growth stocks.
Get This Free Report
