Renaissance Technologies LLC Raises Position in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) by 13.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 459,100 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 54,600 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned 0.82% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $34,290,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Altrius Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 54,138 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,044,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 38,611 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,884,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 54.0% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 476 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 3,761 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,362 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $176,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

NYSE MSM traded down $0.88 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $77.10. The stock had a trading volume of 550,274 shares, compared to its average volume of 631,675. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.10 and a 52-week 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. The stock has a market cap of $4.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.40 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $78.35 and a 200 day moving average of $80.73.

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

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.41%. MSC Industrial Direct's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 89.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MSC Industrial Direct news, Director Mitchell Jacobson bought 27,642 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $69.77 per share, with a total value of $1,928,582.34. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,951,725 shares in the company, valued at $136,171,853.25. This represents a 1.44 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 18.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.