Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Grows Stock Position in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. $MSM

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its stake in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 46.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 55,061 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 17,538 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $5,080,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 25.9% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 628 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 2,389 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $201,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 34,884 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,169,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 22.1% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 778 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 50,418 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,240,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MSM shares. 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 objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group set a $130.00 target price on MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Zacks Research raised MSC Industrial Direct from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded MSC Industrial Direct from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, July 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, MSC Industrial Direct presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.43.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MSM opened at $124.54 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $115.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $99.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.55. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a one year low of $78.80 and a one year high of $127.51. The firm has a market cap of $6.96 billion, a PE ratio of 30.08 and a beta of 0.83.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.15. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 17.34% and a net margin of 5.91%.The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. MSC Industrial Direct’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 4.47 EPS for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be issued a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 8th. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is currently 84.06%.

About MSC Industrial Direct

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.