Norges Bank Takes $34.74 Million Position in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 465,062 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $34,735,000. Norges Bank owned about 0.83% of MSC Industrial Direct as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,418,260 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $255,310,000 after buying an additional 193,860 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,693,256 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $126,469,000 after buying an additional 126,218 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,434,415 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $107,168,000 after buying an additional 96,335 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 35,077 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.26% of the company's stock.

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MSC Industrial Direct Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE MSM traded up $0.20 on Thursday, reaching $75.38. The company had a trading volume of 89,548 shares, compared to its average volume of 625,272. The firm has a market cap of $4.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.99 and a beta of 0.89. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.10 and a fifty-two week high of $94.31. The business has a 50 day moving average of $78.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $80.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.93 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $891.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $908.30 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 6.21%. MSC Industrial Direct's quarterly revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.18 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. 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 4.51%. MSC Industrial Direct's payout ratio is currently 89.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MSM. Loop Capital lowered their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $83.00 to $74.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered 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 report on Friday, April 4th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MSC Industrial Direct currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $82.20.

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.