MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Stock Holdings Increased by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 8.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,035 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 2,136 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $1,945,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 53.0% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 407 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 412.0% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 425 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 54.0% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 476 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 77.0% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 531 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 231 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MSM opened at $79.18 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.90 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $80.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.81. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $72.79 and a fifty-two week high of $104.76. 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 (NYSE:MSM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The industrial products company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $928.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $904.90 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 6.21% and a return on equity of 17.80%. MSC Industrial Direct’s revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.25 EPS. Equities analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.29%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.15%.

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.