Renaissance Technologies LLC Has $11.37 Million Position in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 1,715.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 143,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 135,500 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 0.26% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $11,373,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct during the second quarter worth approximately $3,030,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 7.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 938,980 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $74,467,000 after buying an additional 61,022 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 18.5% during the second quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 13,546 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,074,000 after buying an additional 2,117 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 11.1% during the second quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 174,758 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,569,000 after buying an additional 17,506 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 2.3% during the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 83,374 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,612,000 after buying an additional 1,887 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 8th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $95.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $81.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. KeyCorp downgraded MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Baird R W downgraded MSC Industrial Direct from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.20.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of MSM opened at $85.33 on Tuesday. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.05 and a 52 week high of $105.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.57 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 2.01. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $82.11 and a 200-day moving average of $86.55.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.