Royal Bank of Canada Has $5.08 Million Stock Position in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. $MSM

Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 13.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 55,066 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,483 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $5,080,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AMG National Trust Bank acquired a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the 4th quarter worth about $1,258,000. LSV Asset Management increased its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 1,711.1% in the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 16,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,371,000 after acquiring an additional 15,400 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP raised its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 420,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,385,000 after acquiring an additional 31,260 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 259.0% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 85,573 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,197,000 after acquiring an additional 61,734 shares during the period. Finally, Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lifted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 43.0% during the first quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 705,775 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $65,122,000 after purchasing an additional 212,074 shares in the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on MSM shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. Zacks Research raised shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $130.00 price objective on MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn initiated coverage on MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Monday, July 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $155.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.43.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of MSM opened at $119.31 on Thursday. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $78.80 and a 52-week high of $130.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $120.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $104.85. The stock has a market cap of $6.66 billion, a PE ratio of 28.82 and a beta of 0.83.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 5.91% and a return on equity of 17.34%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 8th were paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 8th. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is currently 84.06%.

MSC Industrial Direct 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.