Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $4.87 Million in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 65,221 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $4,871,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.12% of MSC Industrial Direct at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MSM. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the 3rd quarter valued at $12,170,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 126,218 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 20.5% during 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 acquiring an additional 105,265 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 793,184 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $59,243,000 after acquiring an additional 70,076 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 2,976.6% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 44,703 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,339,000 after acquiring an additional 43,250 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.26% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on MSM. 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 research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wolfe Research began coverage on MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $83.80.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Down 3.4 %

MSM stock traded down $2.72 during trading on Friday, reaching $77.77. 578,197 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 616,364. The firm's 50 day moving average is $80.14 and its 200 day moving average is $81.47. The firm has a market cap of $4.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.56 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $72.79 and a twelve month high of $96.75.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 6.21%. The company had revenue of $928.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $904.90 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.25 earnings per share. MSC Industrial Direct's revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.37%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. MSC Industrial Direct's payout ratio is presently 81.15%.

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.