MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. $MSM Shares Purchased by Envestnet Asset Management Inc.

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 116,908 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,599 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $9,940,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 445.4% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 779,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $60,567,000 after purchasing an additional 636,827 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 6,108.1% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 505,960 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,298,000 after buying an additional 497,810 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 22.9% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,762,248 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $136,867,000 after acquiring an additional 327,833 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 6.8% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,650,221 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $283,513,000 after acquiring an additional 231,961 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in MSC Industrial Direct during the first quarter valued at approximately $17,187,000. 79.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at MSC Industrial Direct

In other MSC Industrial Direct news, Director Mitchell Jacobson acquired 51,954 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $84.43 per share, for a total transaction of $4,386,476.22. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 2,305,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $194,638,336.46. The trade was a 2.31% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 181,806 shares of company stock worth $15,408,056. 18.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

NYSE:MSM opened at $88.01 on Monday. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a one year low of $68.10 and a one year high of $94.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.68. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $89.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $85.80. The stock has a market cap of $4.91 billion, a PE ratio of 24.72 and a beta of 0.98.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.06. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 5.29% and a return on equity of 15.21%. The firm had revenue of $978.18 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $964.03 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. MSC Industrial Direct’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 12th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. This is an increase from MSC Industrial Direct’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is 97.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on MSM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Zacks Research raised shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday. Finally, Wolfe Research cut MSC Industrial Direct from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MSC Industrial Direct has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $91.50.

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.