Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers Inc. ID Raises Holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers Inc. ID lifted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 110,274 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 700 shares during the quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers Inc. ID owned approximately 0.20% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $11,166,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 9.2% during the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,160 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC boosted its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 2,685 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 3.9% during the third quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,141 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $505,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 1.7% during the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 13,495 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,325,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. raised its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. now owns 50,106 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,074,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Monday, April 1st. StockNews.com cut MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $107.00.

Insider Activity at MSC Industrial Direct

In related news, Director Mitchell Jacobson sold 24,501 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.31, for a total value of $2,433,194.31. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,683,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $167,219,171.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 18.80% of the company’s stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

NYSE:MSM opened at $93.22 on Friday. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a one year low of $88.61 and a one year high of $105.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 2.01. The stock has a market cap of $5.25 billion, a PE ratio of 16.74 and a beta of 0.95. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $96.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.80.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.02. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 22.58% and a net margin of 7.89%. The firm had revenue of $935.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $946.55 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.45 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 5.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 9th were issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 8th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.56%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.61%.

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.