Federated Hermes Inc. Purchases 19,389 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 102.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,311 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,389 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $2,861,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MSM. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 1.5% in the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 74,936 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,449,000 after buying an additional 1,132 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 36.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 25,490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,195,000 after acquiring an additional 6,864 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 4.9% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 3,761 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $324,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 38.4% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 962 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the period. Finally, Arete Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct in the third quarter valued at $248,000. 79.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Up 2.6 %

Shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock opened at $77.72 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $4.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.55 and a beta of 0.89. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.10 and a 52-week high of $94.31. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $78.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $80.83.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 3rd. The industrial products company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $891.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $908.30 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.18 EPS. MSC Industrial Direct’s revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.37%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is currently 89.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on MSC Industrial Direct from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $83.00 to $74.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of MSC Industrial Direct to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, April 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $82.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSC Industrial Direct

In related news, Director Mitchell Jacobson purchased 27,642 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $69.77 per share, with a total value of $1,928,582.34. Following the acquisition, 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 ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 18.30% of the company’s stock.

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.