First Trust Advisors LP Acquires 448,708 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) by 29.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,987,455 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 448,708 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 3.56% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $148,443,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 412.0% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 425 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 54.0% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 476 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in MSC Industrial Direct during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 77.0% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 531 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSC Industrial Direct

In other news, Director Mitchell Jacobson bought 27,642 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $69.77 per share, with a total value of $1,928,582.34. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 18.30% of the company's stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

Shares of MSM traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $76.19. 645,398 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 635,586. 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 business's 50 day moving average price is $77.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $80.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.25 billion, a PE ratio of 18.18 and a beta of 0.89. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $68.10 and a 1-year high of $94.31.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 3rd. The industrial products company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $891.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $908.30 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.18 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.46%. MSC Industrial Direct's payout ratio is presently 89.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on MSM. Wolfe Research upgraded MSC Industrial Direct to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Sunday, April 6th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $82.20.

About MSC Industrial Direct

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.