UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Buys 48,411 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) by 20.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 279,557 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 48,411 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned approximately 0.50% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $20,880,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,418,260 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $255,310,000 after purchasing an additional 193,860 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 29.2% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,693,256 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $126,469,000 after purchasing an additional 126,218 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,434,415 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $107,168,000 after purchasing an additional 96,335 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted 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 worth $90,137,000 after buying an additional 676,238 shares during the period. 79.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Sunday, April 6th. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $89.00 price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Robert W. Baird lowered 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 report on Friday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $73.00 to $89.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered 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 report on Friday, April 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $86.00.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of MSM stock traded down $0.76 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $81.23. 461,112 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 640,692. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $77.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $79.52. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $68.10 and a 12-month high of $90.81. The stock has a market cap of $4.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.39 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 3rd. The industrial products company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $908.30 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.18 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.19%. MSC Industrial Direct's payout ratio is 89.71%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mitchell Jacobson purchased 27,642 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 8th. The stock was bought at an average price of $69.77 per share, with a total value of $1,928,582.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,951,725 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $136,171,853.25. The trade was a 1.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 18.30% of the company's stock.

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.