Marshall Wace LLP Increases Stock Position in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) by 329.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 145,147 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 111,352 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP owned approximately 0.26% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $10,841,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Jump Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 182.5% in the fourth quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 78,588 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,870,000 after buying an additional 50,770 shares during the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board grew its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 109.3% during the fourth quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 32,782 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,448,000 after acquiring an additional 17,123 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 57.6% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,756 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $206,000 after acquiring an additional 1,007 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,325 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $174,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 20,179 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,507,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Mitchell Jacobson purchased 27,642 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $69.77 per share, with a total value of $1,928,582.34. Following the transaction, the director now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 18.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, April 6th. Loop Capital reduced their price target on MSC Industrial Direct from $83.00 to $74.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $82.20.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock traded down $0.38 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $77.62. The stock had a trading volume of 300,604 shares, compared to its average volume of 638,465. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $68.10 and a 12-month high of $94.31. The firm has a market cap of $4.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.53 and a beta of 0.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $77.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $80.34. 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 quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 3rd. The industrial products company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $891.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $908.30 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 6.21%. The company's revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.18 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th were issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 9th. MSC Industrial Direct's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.