16,471 Shares in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Acquired by Duality Advisers LP

Duality Advisers LP acquired a new position in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 16,471 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,668,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 4.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,817,016 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $472,790,000 after purchasing an additional 197,193 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 39.9% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 462,756 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $45,420,000 after buying an additional 131,943 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 769,908 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $75,566,000 after buying an additional 125,944 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 23.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 605,437 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $61,307,000 after buying an additional 113,068 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 24.6% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 524,303 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $51,460,000 after purchasing an additional 103,567 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.26% of the company's stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

MSM traded up $0.71 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $93.26. 413,412 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 484,854. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a market capitalization of $5.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.74 and a beta of 0.95. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $88.14 and a 52-week high of $105.77. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $97.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $97.94.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $935.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $946.55 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 7.89% and a return on equity of 22.58%. The company's revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.45 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 5.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 8th. MSC Industrial Direct's dividend payout ratio is currently 59.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MSM shares. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Monday, April 1st. KeyCorp cut their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $107.00.

Insider Transactions at MSC Industrial Direct

In other news, Director Mitchell Jacobson sold 24,501 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.31, for a total value of $2,433,194.31. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,683,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at $167,219,171.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 180,963 shares of company stock valued at $17,712,711. Corporate insiders own 18.80% of the company's stock.

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.