DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Increases Position in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its position in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) by 146.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 93,297 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 55,417 shares during the quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale owned approximately 0.17% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $9,431,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MSM. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 465.4% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 19,687 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,678,000 after purchasing an additional 16,205 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 3.4% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 13,636 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,162,000 after purchasing an additional 447 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 115.7% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,514 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $128,000 after purchasing an additional 812 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 14.1% in the first quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 24,042 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,049,000 after purchasing an additional 2,974 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 34.2% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 30,438 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,594,000 after purchasing an additional 7,749 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on MSM shares. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Monday, April 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $107.00.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Down 1.8 %

MSC Industrial Direct stock traded down $1.71 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $92.92. 692,617 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 489,971. The business has a fifty day moving average of $98.20 and a 200 day moving average of $98.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 2.01. The firm has a market cap of $5.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.68 and a beta of 0.95. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $85.20 and a 12-month high of $105.77.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.02. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 22.58% and a net margin of 7.89%. The firm had revenue of $935.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $946.55 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.45 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 8th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.57%. MSC Industrial Direct's dividend payout ratio is presently 59.61%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.00, for a total transaction of $720,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,432,038 shares in the company, valued at approximately $137,475,648. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.00, for a total value of $720,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,432,038 shares in the company, valued at approximately $137,475,648. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mitchell Jacobson sold 51,040 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.31, for a total value of $4,966,702.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,907,271 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $185,596,541.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 254,503 shares of company stock worth $24,841,663. Insiders own 18.80% of the company's stock.

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.