Quest Partners LLC Boosts Holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Quest Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 35,300.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 354 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 353 shares during the quarter. Quest Partners LLC’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $28,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of MSM. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 20,762 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,102,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 829,779 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $84,024,000 after buying an additional 32,312 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the 4th quarter worth $861,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the fourth quarter valued at $56,088,000. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 18,804 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,904,000 after acquiring an additional 699 shares during the period. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSC Industrial Direct

In related news, SVP Kimberly Shacklett sold 4,885 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.60, for a total value of $413,271.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,897 shares in the company, valued at $1,091,086.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 18.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on MSM. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Friday, June 14th. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 8th. Baird R W lowered shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on MSC Industrial Direct from $95.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 14th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.20.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Down 2.7 %

NYSE MSM opened at $83.86 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.38 and a beta of 0.86. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $81.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.96. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.05 and a 52 week high of $105.77.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 2nd. The industrial products company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 7.44% and a return on equity of 21.31%. The company had revenue of $979.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $979.10 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.74 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 4.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th were issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.96%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.47%.

MSC Industrial Direct Company 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.