Intech Investment Management LLC Takes $1.43 Million Position in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. $MSM

Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 16,968 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,427,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MSM. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 257.4% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 361 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 71.7% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 503 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 130.4% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 576 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 25.9% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 628 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 79.9% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Monday, April 27th. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, iA Financial set a $95.00 price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Friday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MSC Industrial Direct has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $94.71.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock opened at $115.48 on Friday. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $78.80 and a 12-month high of $118.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market cap of $6.45 billion, a PE ratio of 31.04 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a 50-day moving average of $101.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $92.78.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm’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 company earned $0.72 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 8th were given a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 8th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is currently 93.55%.

MSC Industrial Direct Company 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.