Norges Bank Invests $59.38 Million in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. $MSM

Norges Bank bought a new position in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 706,066 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,380,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.27% of MSC Industrial Direct at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MSM. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 124.2% in the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 195,176 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $17,984,000 after purchasing an additional 108,116 shares during the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co bought a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,096,000. Willis Investment Counsel raised its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 48.6% in the 4th quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 37,870 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,185,000 after purchasing an additional 12,383 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 15.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 288,489 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,581,000 after purchasing an additional 38,088 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,322,432 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $121,842,000 after purchasing an additional 15,765 shares during the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

MSM opened at $115.48 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $78.80 and a 12 month high of $118.52. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $101.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $92.83. The stock has a market cap of $6.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.04 and a beta of 0.84.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $917.77 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $931.69 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 16.06% and a net margin of 5.42%.MSC Industrial Direct’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.72 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 8th were paid a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 8th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is presently 93.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on MSM. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Monday, April 27th. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $94.71.

MSC Industrial Direct Company Profile

MSC Industrial Direct Co, Inc (NYSE: MSM) is a leading distributor of metalworking and maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products serving a broad range of industrial customers across North America. The company offers an extensive portfolio of cutting tools, abrasives, measuring and inspection instruments, fasteners, safety supplies and other essential components used in manufacturing, metalworking and production environments. MSC delivers products through a multi-channel distribution network, including an extensive branch system, e-commerce platform and dedicated sales force.

In addition to its core product offerings, MSC Industrial Direct provides value-added services designed to improve productivity and reduce downtime for its customers.