Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Has $84.66 Million Stock Position in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. $MSM

Key Points

• Epoch Investment Partners Inc. has increased its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 13.2%, bringing their total ownership to approximately 1.96% of the company, valued at around $84.65 million.
• Wall Street analysts are optimistic about MSC Industrial Direct, with price targets raised by several firms, including a boost from $74.00 to $84.00 by Loop Capital and from $85.00 to $90.00 by Stephens.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.85 per share, translating to an annualized dividend yield of 3.7%.

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lifted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) by 13.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,089,926 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 126,765 shares during the quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. owned 1.96% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $84,655,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 61,961 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,813,000 after purchasing an additional 860 shares during the period. Penn Capital Management Company LLC acquired a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the 1st quarter valued at $1,096,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 78.8% in the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,444 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 2,400 shares in the last quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc lifted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc now owns 279,019 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $21,671,000 after acquiring an additional 5,225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Level Four Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 26,896 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,089,000 after acquiring an additional 1,676 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stephens increased their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised MSC Industrial Direct from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $73.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Loop Capital increased their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $74.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $89.00 price target on MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $90.33.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE MSM traded down $0.84 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $90.13. 468,213 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 368,171. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.92. The stock has a market cap of $5.02 billion, a PE ratio of 25.46 and a beta of 0.92. The company's fifty day moving average is $87.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.80. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.10 and a fifty-two week high of $92.68.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 14.99% and a net margin of 5.30%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.33 EPS. On average, 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th were issued 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 dividend yield of 3.8%. MSC Industrial Direct's dividend payout ratio is currently 96.05%.

Insider Activity at MSC Industrial Direct

In other news, SVP Kimberly Shacklett sold 2,130 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.00, for a total transaction of $195,960.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 14,657 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,348,444. This represents a 12.69% decrease in their position. 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

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.