Van ECK Associates Corp Increases Stock Holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) by 19.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 58,939 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 9,655 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned about 0.11% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $4,765,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 1,142.3% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 323 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the period. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in MSC Industrial Direct during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 442.1% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 309 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 35,300.0% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 354 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares during the period. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE MSM traded up $0.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $88.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 671,297 shares, compared to its average volume of 782,088. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 0.90. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a one year low of $75.05 and a one year high of $104.76. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $82.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $83.74. The stock has a market cap of $4.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.43 and a beta of 0.87.

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

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. This is a boost from MSC Industrial Direct's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.82%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. MSC Industrial Direct's payout ratio is currently 74.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $87.00 to $73.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MSC Industrial Direct has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $90.20.

MSC Industrial Direct Company 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.