Russell Investments Group Ltd. Acquires 112,819 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. $MSM

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 114.0%, owning 211,762 shares valued at $16.4 million as of the last reporting period.
• MSC Industrial Direct reported earnings of $1.08 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.03, with a revenue of $971.15 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.85, translating to an annualized dividend of $3.40 and a yield of 3.9%.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) by 114.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 211,762 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 112,819 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.38% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $16,448,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MSM. Arrowpoint Investment Partners Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $365,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in MSC Industrial Direct during the 1st quarter valued at about $8,110,000. CCM Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in MSC Industrial Direct during the 1st quarter valued at about $649,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,240,418 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $96,343,000 after buying an additional 33,607 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WealthPLAN Partners LLC grew its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. WealthPLAN Partners LLC now owns 59,883 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,651,000 after buying an additional 2,138 shares in the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MSM. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $89.00 price objective on MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. 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. Stephens upped 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 research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $90.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Kimberly Shacklett sold 2,130 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.00, for a total transaction of $195,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 18.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

Shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock traded up $3.76 during trading on Friday, hitting $90.67. 55,451 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 593,318. 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 Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $68.10 and a 1 year high of $92.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.62 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $86.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.37.

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

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. MSC Industrial Direct's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.