Ameriprise Financial Inc. Raises Position in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) by 19.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 200,229 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 32,499 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 0.36% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $14,954,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in MSC Industrial Direct during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 412.0% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 425 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 54.0% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 476 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 77.0% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 531 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.26% of the company's stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

MSC Industrial Direct stock traded down $0.95 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $78.12. 41,557 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 638,962. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $77.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $79.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.35 billion, a PE ratio of 18.62 and a beta of 0.90. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.10 and a fifty-two week high of $90.82.

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

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th were issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.35%. MSC Industrial Direct's payout ratio is 89.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on MSM. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Wolfe Research upgraded MSC Industrial Direct to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, April 6th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $83.00 to $74.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $82.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MSC Industrial Direct news, Director Mitchell Jacobson acquired 27,642 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 8th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $69.77 per share, with a total value of $1,928,582.34. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 1,951,725 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 18.30% of the company's stock.

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.