GAMMA Investing LLC Boosts Stock Position in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) by 11,324.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 52,893 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 52,430 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC owned 0.09% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $4,108,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the fourth quarter valued at about $609,000. Vise Technologies Inc. increased its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 38.8% during the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 4,319 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $323,000 after buying an additional 1,207 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 279,557 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $20,880,000 after acquiring an additional 48,411 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 312.5% during the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 236,111 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $17,635,000 after acquiring an additional 178,870 shares during the last quarter. Finally, iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the 4th quarter worth $433,000. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at MSC Industrial Direct

In related news, Director Mitchell Jacobson acquired 27,642 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $69.77 per share, with a total value of $1,928,582.34. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,951,725 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $136,171,853.25. This trade represents a 1.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 18.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on MSM. Wolfe Research raised MSC Industrial Direct to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Sunday, April 6th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on MSC Industrial Direct from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $89.00 price objective on MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $83.00 to $74.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $73.00 to $89.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, MSC Industrial Direct has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $86.00.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

MSM stock traded down $1.04 during trading on Friday, reaching $80.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 216,990 shares, compared to its average volume of 630,677. The company's fifty day moving average is $78.32 and its 200-day moving average is $79.45. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $68.10 and a 1 year high of $90.81. The company has a market capitalization of $4.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.32 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 3rd. The industrial products company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.04. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 6.21%. The firm had revenue of $891.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $908.30 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.18 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.20%. MSC Industrial Direct's payout ratio is 89.71%.

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.