Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC Acquires 482 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,778 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 482 shares during the quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $1,496,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 4.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,817,016 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $472,790,000 after buying an additional 197,193 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 5.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,080,301 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $106,032,000 after acquiring an additional 52,633 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 19.6% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 769,908 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $75,566,000 after acquiring an additional 125,944 shares during the last quarter. 59 North Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 1.5% during the third quarter. 59 North Capital Management LP now owns 719,911 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $70,659,000 after acquiring an additional 10,891 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 23.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 605,437 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $61,307,000 after purchasing an additional 113,068 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

Shares of MSM traded down $0.33 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $92.93. The company had a trading volume of 100,375 shares, compared to its average volume of 479,891. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.67 and a beta of 0.95. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $88.14 and a 52-week high of $105.77. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $97.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $97.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $935.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $946.55 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 22.58% and a net margin of 7.89%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.45 EPS. On average, analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 5.69 earnings per share for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 9th were given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 8th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.57%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MSM. StockNews.com lowered shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. KeyCorp dropped their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $107.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSC Industrial Direct

In other news, Director Mitchell Jacobson sold 137,716 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.66, for a total transaction of $13,449,344.56. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,708,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $166,833,652.26. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 180,963 shares of company stock valued at $17,712,711. Corporate insiders own 18.80% of the company’s stock.

About MSC Industrial Direct

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.