MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Shares Bought by Quantbot Technologies LP

Quantbot Technologies LP raised its position in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) by 7,359.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 79,516 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 78,450 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP owned about 0.14% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $5,939,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSM. Royce & Associates LP increased its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 76.0% in the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 424,437 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $31,701,000 after buying an additional 183,343 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the third quarter valued at about $12,170,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 126,218 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew 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 purchasing an additional 105,265 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners grew its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,434,415 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $107,168,000 after purchasing an additional 96,335 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.26% of the company's stock.

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MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

MSM traded up $0.47 on Tuesday, reaching $77.97. 443,124 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 589,573. The stock has a market cap of $4.36 billion, a PE ratio of 18.61 and a beta of 0.90. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $72.79 and a twelve month high of $100.35. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $80.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.52. 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 results on Wednesday, January 8th. The industrial products company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $928.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $904.90 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 6.21% and a return on equity of 17.80%. MSC Industrial Direct's quarterly revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.25 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th were issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.36%. MSC Industrial Direct's payout ratio is 81.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Stephens lowered shares of MSC Industrial Direct from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $85.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $83.80.

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.