Raiffeisen Bank International AG Makes New $756,000 Investment in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 10,350 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $756,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSM. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 49,086 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,666,000 after acquiring an additional 3,169 shares during the last quarter. Man Group plc boosted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 39,566 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,955,000 after purchasing an additional 4,173 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in MSC Industrial Direct during the fourth quarter valued at $443,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 138.1% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 366,792 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $27,396,000 after buying an additional 212,730 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in MSC Industrial Direct during the fourth quarter valued at $1,008,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MSM shares. Wolfe Research upgraded MSC Industrial Direct to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note 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 on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $82.20.

Insider Activity

In other MSC Industrial Direct news, Director Mitchell Jacobson acquired 27,642 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 8th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $69.77 per share, for a total transaction of $1,928,582.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,951,725 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $136,171,853.25. The trade was a 1.44% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 18.30% of the company's stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

Shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock traded down $0.73 on Tuesday, hitting $81.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 372,634 shares, compared to its average volume of 641,113. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $76.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $79.91. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $68.10 and a 1 year high of $92.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.93. The company has a market capitalization of $4.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.37 and a beta of 0.90.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) last released its 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $908.30 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 6.21% and a return on equity of 17.80%. The business's revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.18 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th were given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.19%. MSC Industrial Direct's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 89.71%.

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.