Royce & Associates LP Buys 28,350 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Royce & Associates LP lifted its position in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 13.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F 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.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 85.1% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,733,228 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $216,772,000 after purchasing an additional 1,256,706 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the first quarter worth $16,571,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 804.5% during the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 173,653 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,772,000 after buying an additional 154,454 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 1,715.2% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 143,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,373,000 after buying an additional 135,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 458.4% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 119,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,493,000 after acquiring an additional 98,265 shares during the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MSM shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 sale, the director now owns 4,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $360,199.08. This represents a 18.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.36, for a total value of $4,518,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,402,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $126,761,435.64. This trade represents a 3.44 % 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 Price Performance

MSM opened at $83.07 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.14 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $83.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $83.52. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.05 and a 12-month high of $104.76.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last issued its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $952.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $959.74 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 19.35% and a net margin of 6.77%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.64 EPS. Equities analysts predict 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.09%. This is a positive change from MSC Industrial Direct’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.24%.

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.