Royce & Associates LP Raises Holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Royce & Associates LP lifted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) by 13.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 241,094 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 28,350 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP owned approximately 0.43% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $20,749,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 130,123 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $12,627,000 after acquiring an additional 8,971 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL increased its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 15.1% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 4,561 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $443,000 after buying an additional 599 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 183.6% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 22,323 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,142,000 after buying an additional 14,451 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 580.9% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,389 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $135,000 after buying an additional 1,185 shares during the period. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 261.7% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 387 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on MSM. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $87.00 to $73.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $90.20.

Insider Activity at MSC Industrial Direct

In related news, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.36, for a total transaction of $4,518,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,402,849 shares of the company's stock, valued at $126,761,435.64. The trade was a 3.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total transaction of $80,163.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,044 shares in the company, valued at approximately $360,199.08. This trade represents a 18.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Down 2.8 %

MSM stock traded down $2.38 on Friday, hitting $83.07. 684,600 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 581,937. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $83.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $83.47. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.05 and a 12-month high of $104.76. The stock has a market cap of $4.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.14 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.96.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $952.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $959.74 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 6.77% and a return on equity of 19.35%. The business's revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.64 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. This is a positive change from MSC Industrial Direct's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.09%. MSC Industrial Direct's payout ratio is 74.24%.

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.