Bayforest Capital Ltd Acquires 5,601 Shares of 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 lifted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) by 494.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,734 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 5,601 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd's holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $523,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 6.8% in 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 buying an additional 231,961 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 88,247 shares during the period. Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 22.9% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,762,248 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $136,867,000 after buying an additional 327,833 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 2.8% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,240,418 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $96,343,000 after buying an additional 33,607 shares during the period. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lifted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 13.2% in the first quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,089,926 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $84,655,000 after buying an additional 126,765 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.26% of the company's stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MSM traded down $0.99 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $91.31. 343,057 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 439,432. The company has a market cap of $5.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.79 and a beta of 0.95. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $88.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.53. 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 twelve month low of $68.10 and a twelve month high of $94.31.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $971.15 million during 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 was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.33 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 9th were issued 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 dividend yield of 3.7%. MSC Industrial Direct's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 96.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on MSM. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $89.00 target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Stephens increased their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $73.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $90.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSC Industrial Direct

In related news, SVP Kimberly Shacklett sold 2,130 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 14,657 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,348,444. This trade represents a 12.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 18.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.