Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Boosts Holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Key Points

• Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board increased its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 53.6%, owning 50,361 shares valued at approximately $3.9 million as of the latest reporting period.
• Several institutional investors have made significant adjustments to their investments in MSC Industrial Direct, with Mackenzie Financial Corp raising its stake by 6,108.1% in the first quarter.
• The company reported earnings of $1.08 per share, exceeding analyst expectations, with a revenue of $971.15 million, although this marks a 0.8% decline from the previous year.

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board raised its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) by 53.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 50,361 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 17,579 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board owned 0.09% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $3,912,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 127.5% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,206,811 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $90,137,000 after buying an additional 676,238 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 445.4% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 779,800 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $60,567,000 after acquiring an additional 636,827 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 6,108.1% in the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 505,960 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $39,298,000 after acquiring an additional 497,810 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. acquired a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the 4th quarter valued at $35,576,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 29.2% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,987,455 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $148,443,000 after purchasing an additional 448,708 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MSC Industrial Direct news, SVP Kimberly Shacklett sold 2,130 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.00, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 18.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MSM shares. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $89.00 price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $73.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Stephens raised their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Loop Capital lifted their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $74.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $90.33.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

Shares of MSM opened at $85.58 on Thursday. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a one year low of $68.10 and a one year high of $92.68. The stock's fifty day moving average is $85.30 and its 200-day moving average is $80.99. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $4.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.18 and a beta of 0.92.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.05. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 14.99% and a net margin of 5.30%. The firm had revenue of $971.15 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $969.72 million. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.33 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 9th were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. MSC Industrial Direct's dividend payout ratio is currently 96.05%.

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.

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