Royce & Associates LP Raises Stock Position in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Royce & Associates LP lifted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) by 9.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 465,019 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 40,582 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned 0.83% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $36,118,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 47.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 681 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 5,956 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $463,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 9,078 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $705,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the fourth quarter worth $34,735,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 895.0% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 597 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 537 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at MSC Industrial Direct

In other news, SVP Kimberly Shacklett sold 2,130 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.00, for a total transaction of $195,960.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 14,657 shares in the company, valued at $1,348,444. This represents a 12.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 18.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Up 0.4%

MSM stock traded up $0.37 during trading on Monday, reaching $87.73. The company had a trading volume of 457,360 shares, compared to its average volume of 620,821. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $68.10 and a 52 week high of $92.68. The company has a market cap of $4.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.78 and a beta of 0.87. The business has a 50 day moving average of $84.38 and a 200 day moving average of $80.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $971.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $969.72 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 5.30% and a return on equity of 14.99%. The business's revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.33 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.88%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 9th. MSC Industrial Direct's payout ratio is 96.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on MSM. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of 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. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, April 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the company from $73.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $89.00 price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $74.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $90.33.

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.