FIL Ltd Boosts Stock Position in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

FIL Ltd increased its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) by 17.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 260,300 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 39,560 shares during the quarter. FIL Ltd owned about 0.47% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $19,442,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC grew its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 36.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 25,490 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,195,000 after purchasing an additional 6,864 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,735,000. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 26,035 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,945,000 after buying an additional 2,136 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 155,601 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $11,622,000 after buying an additional 1,418 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in MSC Industrial Direct during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,654,000. 79.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at MSC Industrial Direct

In other news, Director Mitchell Jacobson acquired 27,642 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 8th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $69.77 per share, with a total value of $1,928,582.34. Following the purchase, the director now owns 1,951,725 shares in the company, valued at $136,171,853.25. This trade represents a 1.44 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 18.30% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

MSM traded down $0.88 on Tuesday, reaching $77.10. The stock had a trading volume of 550,274 shares, compared to its average volume of 630,786. The company has a market cap of $4.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.40 and a beta of 0.89. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $68.10 and a 12-month high of $94.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The business's 50-day moving average price is $78.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $80.73.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 3rd. The industrial products company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.04. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 6.21%. The business had revenue of $891.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $908.30 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.18 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.41%. MSC Industrial Direct's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 89.71%.

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.