Alliancebernstein L.P. Raises Stake in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. $MSM

Key Points

• AllianceBernstein L.P. increased its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 7.1%, owning approximately $23.19 million worth of shares after acquiring additional stock in the first quarter.
• Several hedge funds have also expanded their positions in MSC Industrial, with notable increases from Ameriprise Financial (19.4%) and BNP Paribas Financial Markets (307.2%) during the fourth quarter.
• Recent analyst activity includes a rating upgrade from JPMorgan Chase, which raised MSC's price target from $73 to $89, reflecting heightened market confidence.

Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) by 7.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 298,597 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 19,907 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.54% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $23,192,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,650,221 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $283,513,000 after acquiring an additional 231,961 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 5.2% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,781,503 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $138,369,000 after purchasing an additional 88,247 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 22.9% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,762,248 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $136,867,000 after buying an additional 327,833 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,240,418 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $96,343,000 after buying an additional 33,607 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. increased its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 13.2% during the 1st quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,089,926 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $84,655,000 after acquiring an additional 126,765 shares in the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Kimberly Shacklett sold 2,130 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.00, for a total transaction of $195,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 14,657 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,348,444. The trade was a 12.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 18.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $74.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Zacks Research lowered MSC Industrial Direct from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $89.00 target price on MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Stephens boosted their price target on MSC Industrial Direct from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised MSC Industrial Direct from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $73.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MSC Industrial Direct presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $90.33.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:MSM traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $91.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 349,194 shares, compared to its average volume of 443,156. The firm has a market cap of $5.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.95 and a beta of 0.95. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $88.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.69. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $68.10 and a 1 year high of $94.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $971.15 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $969.72 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 14.99% and a net margin of 5.30%.The firm's revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.33 EPS. Research analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. MSC Industrial Direct's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 96.05%.

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.