MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Shares Bought by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 307.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 74,804 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 56,433 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $5,587,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MSM. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 20,179 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,507,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,325 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $174,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Altrius Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 54,138 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,044,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 38,611 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,884,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 54.0% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 476 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mitchell Jacobson purchased 27,642 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 8th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $69.77 per share, for a total transaction of $1,928,582.34. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,951,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $136,171,853.25. The trade was a 1.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 18.30% of the company’s stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

Shares of MSM opened at $79.10 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.93 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $76.87 and its 200-day moving average is $79.93. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $68.10 and a 12-month high of $94.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.88 and a beta of 0.90.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 3rd. The industrial products company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $891.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $908.30 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 6.21%. The firm’s revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.18 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th were paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.30%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is currently 89.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wolfe Research raised shares of MSC Industrial Direct to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 6th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $83.00 to $74.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $82.20.

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.