Victory Capital Management Inc. Raises Position in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) by 445.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 779,800 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 636,827 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 1.40% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $60,567,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 895.0% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 597 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 537 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 51.1% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 719 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HM Payson & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the 1st quarter worth about $59,000. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MSM shares. Stephens raised their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Loop Capital raised their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $74.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised MSC Industrial Direct from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $73.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Industrial Alliance Securities set a $89.00 price target on MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, MSC Industrial Direct presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $90.33.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

Shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock traded up $0.17 during trading on Friday, reaching $87.34. The company's stock had a trading volume of 755,610 shares, compared to its average volume of 621,350. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $68.10 and a 12-month high of $92.68. The company has a market capitalization of $4.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.67 and a beta of 0.87. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $83.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $80.44.

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

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.89%. MSC Industrial Direct's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 96.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSC Industrial Direct

In related news, SVP Kimberly Shacklett sold 2,130 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 10th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,348,444. This represents a 12.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 18.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.