31,854 Shares in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. $MSM Acquired by VELA Investment Management LLC

VELA Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 31,854 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,789,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSM. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 89.9% in the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 245 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp increased its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 101.0% in the first quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 71.7% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 503 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 42.4% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 514 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

Shares of MSM opened at $121.38 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market cap of $6.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.32 and a beta of 0.83. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a one year low of $78.80 and a one year high of $130.46. The company has a 50-day moving average of $122.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $108.63.

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

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th were paid a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 8th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is 84.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MSM. Weiss Ratings raised MSC Industrial Direct from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Rothschild & Co Redburn initiated coverage on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Monday, July 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $155.00 price target on the stock. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Finally, Zacks Research cut MSC Industrial Direct from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, MSC Industrial Direct currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.43.

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.