Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stake in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 0.2% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 102,875 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 211 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $7,990,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MSM. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 895.0% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 597 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 537 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 47.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 681 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 51.1% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 719 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 116.2% during the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 1,230 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $92,000 after acquiring an additional 661 shares during the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

Shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock opened at $88.48 on Wednesday. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.10 and a twelve month high of $92.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.99 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $82.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $80.17.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $971.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $969.72 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 14.99% and a net margin of 5.30%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.33 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 9th. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is presently 96.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on MSM shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $89.00 target price on MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded MSC Industrial Direct from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $73.00 to $89.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Wolfe Research upgraded MSC Industrial Direct to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, April 6th. Finally, Stephens increased their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $90.33.

Insider Activity at MSC Industrial Direct

In other news, SVP Kimberly Shacklett sold 2,130 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.00, for a total transaction of $195,960.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 14,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,348,444. The trade was a 12.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 18.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.