MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Stock Position Lifted by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) by 0.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,579,484 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,544 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 8.20% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $342,042,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,418,260 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $255,310,000 after purchasing an additional 193,860 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP boosted its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 76.0% during the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 424,437 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $31,701,000 after acquiring an additional 183,343 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake 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 worth $126,469,000 after purchasing an additional 126,218 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 105,265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its holdings in 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 worth $107,168,000 after purchasing an additional 96,335 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.26% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Loop Capital dropped their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $83.00 to $74.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $82.20.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MSM traded down $0.05 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $70.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 952,552 shares, compared to its average volume of 625,651. The company has a market cap of $3.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.73 and a beta of 0.89. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a one year low of $68.10 and a one year high of $95.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $78.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.06.

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

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders 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 yield of 4.85%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. MSC Industrial Direct's payout ratio is 89.71%.

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.