Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Takes $897,000 Position in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 11,545 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $897,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MSM. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 895.0% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 597 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 537 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 47.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 681 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 51.1% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 719 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 116.2% during the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 1,230 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 661 shares during the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Loop Capital upped their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $74.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded MSC Industrial Direct from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $73.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Stephens upped their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wolfe Research upgraded MSC Industrial Direct to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, April 6th. Finally, Industrial Alliance Securities set a $89.00 target price on MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $90.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Mitchell Jacobson acquired 27,642 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $69.77 per share, for a total transaction of $1,928,582.34. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 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 position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 18.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

Shares of MSM traded up $0.36 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $89.97. The stock had a trading volume of 706,491 shares, compared to its average volume of 618,461. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $68.10 and a 12 month high of $90.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.01 billion, a PE ratio of 25.42 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.92. The company's 50-day moving average is $81.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $79.50.

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

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.78%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 9th. MSC Industrial Direct's payout ratio is 96.05%.

MSC Industrial Direct 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.