Versor Investments LP Invests $249,000 in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. $MSM

Key Points

• Versor Investments LP has acquired a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct, purchasing 3,200 shares valued at approximately $249,000 during the first quarter.
• MSC Industrial Direct reported earnings of $1.08 per share, exceeding estimates, but experienced a 0.8% year-over-year revenue decline for the quarter.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.85 per share, with a dividend yield of 3.9% and a payout ratio of 96.05%.

Versor Investments LP acquired a new position in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 3,200 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $249,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,755 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $292,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,792 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $295,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 47.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 681 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 51.1% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 719 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV raised its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 207.8% during the 1st quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV now owns 397 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on MSM. Loop Capital upped their target price 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 target price 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. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $89.00 price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $73.00 to $89.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, MSC Industrial Direct currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $90.33.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Up 0.6%

NYSE MSM traded up $0.59 on Wednesday, reaching $91.73. The company had a trading volume of 395,001 shares, compared to its average volume of 398,726. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.91 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.92. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $68.10 and a 1-year high of $92.68. The company's fifty day moving average is $87.29 and its 200-day moving average is $81.66.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.05. The firm 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 company's revenue for the quarter was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.33 EPS. On average, research 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 9th were paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. MSC Industrial Direct's dividend payout ratio is presently 96.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Kimberly Shacklett sold 2,130 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.00, for a total value 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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.