Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC Has $1.72 Million Position in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 11.3% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 22,168 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,245 shares during the period. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $1,722,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MSM. Norges Bank bought a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the 4th quarter valued at $34,735,000. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 26,035 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,945,000 after purchasing an additional 2,136 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 155,601 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,622,000 after buying an additional 1,418 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP bought a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,463,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 793,184 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $59,243,000 after buying an additional 70,076 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSM has been the subject of several 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 for the company in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $73.00 to $89.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 6th. Finally, Industrial Alliance Securities set a $89.00 price objective on MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MSC Industrial Direct presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.00.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock opened at $82.10 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $4.57 billion, a PE ratio of 21.66 and a beta of 0.87. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $79.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $79.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.92. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.10 and a 52-week high of $90.81.

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 5.69% and a return on equity of 16.06%. The company had revenue of $891.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $908.30 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.18 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 9th. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is currently 89.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Mitchell Jacobson acquired 27,642 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 8th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $69.77 per share, with a total value of $1,928,582.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,951,725 shares in the company, valued at $136,171,853.25. This trade represents a 1.44% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 18.30% of the company’s stock.

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.