35,527 Shares in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Purchased by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 35,527 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,654,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.06% of MSC Industrial Direct at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSM. Rockland Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 50.5% during the 4th quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 16,917 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,264,000 after acquiring an additional 5,674 shares in the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co increased its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 240.3% in the fourth quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 1,572 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $117,000 after purchasing an additional 1,110 shares during the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC raised its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 102.8% during the fourth quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 15,045 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,124,000 after purchasing an additional 7,625 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 15.8% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 258,646 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $22,259,000 after purchasing an additional 35,289 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fulcrum Equity Management bought a new position in MSC Industrial Direct during the third quarter valued at $204,000. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stephens cut MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $87.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.80.

Insider Transactions at MSC Industrial Direct

In other news, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total transaction of $80,163.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $360,199.08. The trade was a 18.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.36, for a total transaction of $4,518,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,402,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $126,761,435.64. The trade was a 3.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 18.30% of the company’s stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Up 0.2 %

MSM stock opened at $82.89 on Thursday. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a one year low of $72.79 and a one year high of $104.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.93. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $81.26 and its 200 day moving average is $82.01. The firm has a market cap of $4.63 billion, a PE ratio of 19.78 and a beta of 0.91.

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

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.10%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.15%.

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.