MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Holdings Raised by Aquatic Capital Management LLC

Aquatic Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 9.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 25,105 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,105 shares during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $1,875,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 412.0% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 425 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 54.0% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 77.0% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 531 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Buying and Selling at MSC Industrial Direct

In related news, Director Mitchell Jacobson bought 27,642 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 8th. The stock was bought at an average price of $69.77 per share, with a total value of $1,928,582.34. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,951,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $136,171,853.25. This represents a 1.44 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 18.30% of the company’s stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Down 0.7 %

MSC Industrial Direct stock opened at $77.10 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $77.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.29. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $68.10 and a 52 week high of $94.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.40 and a beta of 0.89.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 3rd. The industrial products company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.04. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 6.21% and a return on equity of 17.80%. The firm had revenue of $891.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $908.30 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.18 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 9th. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 89.71%.

MSC Industrial Direct Company 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.