V Square Quantitative Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 77.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 531 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $40,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 30.7% in the fourth quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 29,666 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,216,000 after buying an additional 6,973 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 8,092 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $604,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the period. Tectonic Advisors LLC grew its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 16.6% during the fourth quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 72,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,430,000 after buying an additional 10,357 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 32,796 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,453,000 after buying an additional 4,528 shares during the period. Finally, Verity Asset Management Inc. grew its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,569 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $491,000 after buying an additional 391 shares during the period. 79.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

MSM opened at $81.42 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $80.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.79. The firm has a market cap of $4.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.43 and a beta of 0.91. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $72.79 and a twelve month high of $104.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

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

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.18%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 15th. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSM has been the topic of several research reports. Stephens lowered shares of MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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 research note on Friday, October 25th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.80.

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.