Gotham Asset Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its stake in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 20.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 251,710 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 42,268 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $18,800,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,418,260 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $255,310,000 after acquiring an additional 193,860 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 29.2% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,987,455 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $148,443,000 after purchasing an additional 448,708 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,693,256 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $126,469,000 after purchasing an additional 126,218 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,434,415 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $107,168,000 after purchasing an additional 96,335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 127.5% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,206,811 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $90,137,000 after buying an additional 676,238 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at MSC Industrial Direct

In other MSC Industrial Direct news, Director Mitchell Jacobson purchased 27,642 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 8th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $69.77 per share, for a total transaction of $1,928,582.34. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,951,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $136,171,853.25. The trade was a 1.44 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 18.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MSM shares. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Loop Capital reduced their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $83.00 to $74.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded MSC Industrial Direct to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MSC Industrial Direct presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $82.20.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:MSM opened at $76.11 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $76.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $79.93. The company has a market cap of $4.24 billion, a PE ratio of 18.16 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $68.10 and a 12 month high of $94.31.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $891.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $908.30 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 6.21%. MSC Industrial Direct’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.18 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th were issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.47%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 9th. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is 89.71%.

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.