Fifth Third Bancorp Raises Stake in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. $MSM

Key Points

• Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 6,544.1% in the first quarter, ending with 16,876 shares valued at about $1.56 million.
• MSC Industrial Direct reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, with EPS of $1.43 versus $1.28 expected, and revenue of $1.05 billion, up 7.8% year over year.
• The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.87 per share, equal to a 2.8% annualized yield, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus “Moderate Buy” with a target price of $123.43.

Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) by 6,544.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,876 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 16,622 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp's holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $1,557,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 12,181.8% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 3,254,670 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $273,718,000 after purchasing an additional 3,228,170 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in MSC Industrial Direct during the fourth quarter worth about $59,380,000. Alberta Investment Management Corp increased its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 213.7% in the fourth quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 619,600 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $52,108,000 after buying an additional 422,100 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 3,393.6% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 275,432 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $23,164,000 after buying an additional 267,548 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J. Goldman & Co LP acquired a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $21,377,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.26% of the company's stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE MSM opened at $125.66 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $116.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $101.05. The company has a market capitalization of $7.02 billion, a PE ratio of 30.35 and a beta of 0.83. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $78.80 and a 12-month high of $128.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.15. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 5.91% and a return on equity of 17.34%. The business had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.03 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. The company's revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 4.47 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 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th were given a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 8th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. MSC Industrial Direct's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 84.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. KeyCorp boosted their price target on MSC Industrial Direct from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings raised MSC Industrial Direct from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $130.00 target price on MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised MSC Industrial Direct from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $123.43.

MSC Industrial Direct Profile

MSC Industrial Direct Co, Inc NYSE: MSM is a leading distributor of metalworking and maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products serving a broad range of industrial customers across North America. The company offers an extensive portfolio of cutting tools, abrasives, measuring and inspection instruments, fasteners, safety supplies and other essential components used in manufacturing, metalworking and production environments. MSC delivers products through a multi-channel distribution network, including an extensive branch system, e-commerce platform and dedicated sales force.

In addition to its core product offerings, MSC Industrial Direct provides value-added services designed to improve productivity and reduce downtime for its customers.

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