Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. Boosts Stock Position in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. $MSM

Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 381,610 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 5,526 shares during the quarter. Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. owned approximately 0.68% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $32,093,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MSM. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 42.4% during the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 514 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 71.7% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 503 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct during the 4th quarter worth $48,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 130.4% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 576 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 25.9% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 628 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Monday, April 27th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $145.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.00.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Up 2.9%

NYSE MSM opened at $117.49 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.73. The firm has a market cap of $6.56 billion, a PE ratio of 31.58 and a beta of 0.84. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a one year low of $78.80 and a one year high of $119.13. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $105.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $94.28.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $917.77 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $931.69 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 5.42% and a return on equity of 16.06%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.72 earnings per share. Analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be paid a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 8th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is currently 93.55%.

MSC Industrial Direct Profile

MSC Industrial Direct Co, Inc (NYSE: MSM) is a leading distributor of metalworking and maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products serving a broad range of industrial customers across North America. The company offers an extensive portfolio of cutting tools, abrasives, measuring and inspection instruments, fasteners, safety supplies and other essential components used in manufacturing, metalworking and production environments. MSC delivers products through a multi-channel distribution network, including an extensive branch system, e-commerce platform and dedicated sales force.

In addition to its core product offerings, MSC Industrial Direct provides value-added services designed to improve productivity and reduce downtime for its customers.