Bayforest Capital Ltd Grows Holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. $MSM

Key Points

• Bayforest Capital Ltd significantly increased its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 494.4%, now owning 6,734 shares valued at approximately $523,000.
• Wall Street analysts have generally positive outlooks for MSC Industrial Direct, with target price upgrades from several firms, including Stephens raising it to $90.00 and JPMorgan Chase to $89.00.
• Despite recent growth forecasts, MSC Industrial Direct's stock price recently dropped by 1.1%, and the company reported a lower year-over-year revenue with earnings per share of $1.08 for the latest quarter.

Bayforest Capital Ltd grew its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) by 494.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,734 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,601 shares during the quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd's holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $523,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC acquired a new position in MSC Industrial Direct during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $326,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 19.4% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 200,229 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $14,954,000 after purchasing an additional 32,499 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 307.2% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 74,804 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,587,000 after acquiring an additional 56,433 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. increased its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 207.2% during the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 79,741 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,956,000 after acquiring an additional 53,783 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 438,393 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $32,743,000 after acquiring an additional 6,336 shares during the period. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on MSM. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised MSC Industrial Direct from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $73.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $89.00 price objective on MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Stephens boosted their price objective 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, Zacks Research lowered MSC Industrial Direct from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $90.33.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Kimberly Shacklett sold 2,130 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 14,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,348,444. This trade represents a 12.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 18.30% of the company's stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MSM traded up $0.60 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $91.95. 112,298 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 583,739. The company has a market capitalization of $5.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.97 and a beta of 0.95. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $68.10 and a 1 year high of $94.31. The company's 50-day moving average is $88.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 business had revenue of $971.15 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.33 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend 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.