Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Acquires New Stake in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 5,619 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $420,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 7.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,567,038 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $134,859,000 after acquiring an additional 113,878 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 11.1% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 918,235 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $79,023,000 after acquiring an additional 91,369 shares in the last quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN lifted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 5.8% during the third quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 641,779 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $55,232,000 after acquiring an additional 35,077 shares in the last quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC now owns 361,783 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $31,135,000 after purchasing an additional 11,585 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 15.8% in the 3rd 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 during the period. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Stephens downgraded 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 note on Wednesday, December 4th. Wolfe Research began coverage on MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $87.00 to $73.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $83.80.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

Shares of MSM stock traded up $0.98 during trading on Thursday, hitting $82.03. The company had a trading volume of 320,873 shares, compared to its average volume of 698,623. 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 has a market capitalization of $4.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.58 and a beta of 0.91. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $80.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.96. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a one year low of $72.79 and a one year high of $104.76.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) last announced 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. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 6.21% and a return on equity of 17.80%. The business had revenue of $928.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $904.90 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.25 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.14%. MSC Industrial Direct's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.