Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 4,371 MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC acquired a new position in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 4,371 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $326,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MSM. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,418,260 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $255,310,000 after buying an additional 193,860 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 29.2% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,987,455 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $148,443,000 after purchasing an additional 448,708 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,693,256 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $126,469,000 after purchasing an additional 126,218 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,434,415 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $107,168,000 after purchasing an additional 96,335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 127.5% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,206,811 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $90,137,000 after purchasing an additional 676,238 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on MSM. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Sunday, April 6th. Loop Capital lowered their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $83.00 to $74.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note 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 for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $82.20.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mitchell Jacobson bought 27,642 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 8th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $69.77 per share, with a total value of $1,928,582.34. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 1,951,725 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 18.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

MSM stock traded up $1.70 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $81.56. 582,130 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 639,582. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.46 and a beta of 0.90. 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 Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.10 and a twelve month high of $93.16. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $76.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.92.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 3rd. The industrial products company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.04. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 6.21%. The business had revenue of $891.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $908.30 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.18 earnings per share. MSC Industrial Direct's quarterly revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.17%. MSC Industrial Direct's dividend payout ratio is 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.