Royce & Associates LP Buys 183,343 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Royce & Associates LP lifted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) by 76.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 424,437 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 183,343 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned 0.76% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $31,701,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 8.1% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew 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 purchasing an additional 91,369 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 793,184 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $59,243,000 after buying an additional 70,076 shares during the last quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN raised its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 5.8% in the third quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 641,779 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $55,232,000 after buying an additional 35,077 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 618,103 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $46,166,000 after buying an additional 105,265 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.26% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MSM traded down $0.95 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $78.21. The company had a trading volume of 526,987 shares, compared to its average volume of 589,786. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a one year low of $72.79 and a one year high of $100.35. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $80.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.48. 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 cap of $4.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.67 and a beta of 0.90.

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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $928.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $904.90 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 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.25 earnings per share. 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 Company 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.