Oxford Asset Management LLP Takes Position in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Oxford Asset Management LLP bought a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,607 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $269,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 412.0% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 425 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in 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 valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 77.0% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MSM. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $83.00 to $74.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on 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, Wolfe Research upgraded MSC Industrial Direct to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, April 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. 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 Down 0.5 %

MSM stock opened at $77.62 on Monday. 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 Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $68.10 and a 1-year high of $94.31. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $77.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $80.34. The firm has a market cap of $4.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.53 and a beta of 0.89.

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

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.38%. MSC Industrial Direct's dividend payout ratio is currently 89.71%.

Insider Transactions at MSC Industrial Direct

In other news, Director Mitchell Jacobson purchased 27,642 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $69.77 per share, for a total transaction of $1,928,582.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,951,725 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $136,171,853.25. The trade was a 1.44 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 18.30% of the company's stock.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSM? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.