HighTower Advisors LLC Buys 4,041 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 8.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 50,548 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,041 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.09% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $3,775,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 53.0% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 407 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 412.0% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 425 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 54.0% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 476 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in MSC Industrial Direct during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 77.0% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 531 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MSM shares. Stephens downgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.80.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MSM opened at $78.21 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.67 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $80.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.93 and a quick ratio of 0.91. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $72.79 and a fifty-two week high of $100.35.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The industrial products company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $928.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $904.90 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 6.21% and a return on equity of 17.80%. MSC Industrial Direct’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.25 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

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.