Rhumbline Advisers Increases Stake in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 155,601 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,418 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned 0.28% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $11,622,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSM. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 53.0% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 407 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC boosted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 6,925 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $596,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 54.0% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 476 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 6.5% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,833 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $244,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the period. Finally, M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 4.9% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 3,761 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $324,000 after buying an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Down 2.8 %

Shares of MSM opened at $80.68 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.93 and a quick ratio of 0.91. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $72.79 and a 1-year high of $104.76. The company has a market capitalization of $4.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.26 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $80.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.82.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The industrial products company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.13. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 6.21% and a return on equity of 17.80%. The firm had revenue of $928.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $904.90 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.25 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th were given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.21%. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is 81.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Stephens cut shares of MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, MSC Industrial Direct currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.80.

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.