MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Shares Purchased by UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) by 20.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 279,557 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 48,411 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned about 0.50% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $20,880,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 36.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 25,490 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,195,000 after purchasing an additional 6,864 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the fourth quarter valued at $34,735,000. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 26,035 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,945,000 after purchasing an additional 2,136 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 155,601 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $11,622,000 after acquiring an additional 1,418 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 60.5% during the 4th quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,708 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,024,000 after acquiring an additional 5,169 shares during the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on MSM. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Loop Capital dropped 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. Wolfe Research raised shares of MSC Industrial Direct to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, April 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $73.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Industrial Alliance Securities set a $89.00 price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Tuesday. Five 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $86.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSC Industrial Direct

In other MSC Industrial Direct news, Director Mitchell Jacobson bought 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 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 acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 18.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:MSM traded down $0.76 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $81.23. 461,112 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 640,089. The firm has a market cap of $4.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.39 and a beta of 0.90. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.10 and a 52-week high of $90.81. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $77.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $79.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.93.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 6.21% and a return on equity of 17.80%. The firm had revenue of $891.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $908.30 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.18 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct Co., 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, April 23rd. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.19%. MSC Industrial Direct's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 89.71%.

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.