California Public Employees Retirement System Has $5.98 Million Stock Holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

California Public Employees Retirement System reduced its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) by 13.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 80,014 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 11,909 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.14% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $5,976,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct during the fourth quarter worth about $34,735,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,418,260 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $255,310,000 after acquiring an additional 193,860 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP lifted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 76.0% in the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 424,437 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $31,701,000 after acquiring an additional 183,343 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,693,256 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $126,469,000 after acquiring an additional 126,218 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 618,103 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $46,166,000 after purchasing an additional 105,265 shares during the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mitchell Jacobson bought 27,642 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $69.77 per share, with a total value of $1,928,582.34. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,951,725 shares in the company, valued at approximately $136,171,853.25. This trade represents a 1.44 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 18.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MSM traded up $2.00 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $77.72. The company had a trading volume of 1,123,029 shares, compared to its average volume of 629,815. The firm has a market cap of $4.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.55 and a beta of 0.89. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $78.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $80.83. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a one year low of $68.10 and a one year high of $94.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.93.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 3rd. The industrial products company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.04. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 6.21% and a return on equity of 17.80%. The company had revenue of $891.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $908.30 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.18 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. MSC Industrial Direct's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 89.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on MSM. Wolfe Research upgraded MSC Industrial Direct to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, April 6th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price target on MSC Industrial Direct from $83.00 to $74.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $82.20.

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.