MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Shares Acquired by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 8.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,035 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,136 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $1,945,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct during the 3rd quarter worth about $12,170,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 7.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,567,038 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $134,859,000 after acquiring an additional 113,878 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 618,103 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $46,166,000 after acquiring an additional 105,265 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 11.1% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 918,235 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $79,023,000 after acquiring an additional 91,369 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 367.3% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 71,794 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,179,000 after acquiring an additional 56,430 shares in the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MSM shares. Wolfe Research began 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 objective on the stock. Stephens downgraded MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, MSC Industrial Direct has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.80.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Down 1.9 %

MSC Industrial Direct stock opened at $79.18 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $80.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.81. The firm has a market cap of $4.42 billion, a PE ratio of 18.90 and a beta of 0.91. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $72.79 and a twelve month high of $104.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.93.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The industrial products company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $928.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $904.90 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 6.21%. MSC Industrial Direct’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.25 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.29%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is 81.15%.

MSC Industrial Direct 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.