WINTON GROUP Ltd Invests $1.05 Million in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 14,104 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,053,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MSM. Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 7.9% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 52,148 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,488,000 after acquiring an additional 3,840 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 24.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 5,595 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $482,000 after purchasing an additional 1,092 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 43.4% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 18,371 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,581,000 after purchasing an additional 5,563 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the third quarter worth about $1,290,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 29.8% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 11,820 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,017,000 after purchasing an additional 2,717 shares in the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Remove Ads

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on MSM. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Stephens cut MSC Industrial Direct from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $85.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $83.80.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MSM traded up $1.00 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $78.82. The company had a trading volume of 266,438 shares, compared to its average volume of 623,358. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $72.79 and a 12 month high of $96.13. The stock has a market cap of $4.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.78 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.93 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $79.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $81.48.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The industrial products company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $928.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $904.90 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 6.21%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.25 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. MSC Industrial Direct's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.