AQR Capital Management LLC Grows Position in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. $MSM

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 29.6%, acquiring an additional 79,840 shares, bringing its total to 349,310 shares valued at approximately $26.76 million.
• Several other institutional investors, including Victory Capital Management and Mackenzie Financial Corp, have also significantly increased their holdings, indicating strong institutional interest in MSC Industrial Direct.
• MSC Industrial Direct's latest earnings report showed higher-than-expected earnings of $1.08 per share, along with a quarterly dividend of $0.85, reflecting a 3.7% dividend yield.

AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) by 29.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 349,310 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 79,840 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.63% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $26,764,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MSM. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 445.4% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 779,800 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $60,567,000 after purchasing an additional 636,827 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 6,108.1% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 505,960 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $39,298,000 after purchasing an additional 497,810 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 22.9% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,762,248 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $136,867,000 after purchasing an additional 327,833 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 6.8% during the first 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 last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in MSC Industrial Direct during the first quarter valued at $17,187,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.26% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Kimberly Shacklett sold 2,130 shares of the company's 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 14,657 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,348,444. This represents a 12.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 18.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on MSM. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $74.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $73.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Industrial Alliance Securities set a $89.00 price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MSC Industrial Direct has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $90.33.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE MSM traded down $0.99 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $91.31. The company had a trading volume of 343,057 shares, compared to its average volume of 439,432. The business's 50-day moving average is $88.71 and its 200-day moving average is $82.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market cap of $5.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.79 and a beta of 0.95. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $68.10 and a 52 week high of $94.31.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $971.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $969.72 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 5.30% and a return on equity of 14.99%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.33 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 9th were paid a $0.85 dividend. 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 is 96.05%.

MSC Industrial Direct Company 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.