Xponance Inc. Boosts Stake in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Xponance Inc. grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 6.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,193 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 298 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $388,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Royce & Associates LP increased its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 76.0% during the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 424,437 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,701,000 after purchasing an additional 183,343 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the 3rd quarter worth about $12,170,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,693,256 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $126,469,000 after buying an additional 126,218 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 618,103 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $46,166,000 after buying an additional 105,265 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,434,415 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $107,168,000 after acquiring an additional 96,335 shares during the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of MSM opened at $79.84 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $80.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.46. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $72.79 and a twelve month high of $100.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.05 and a beta of 0.90.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The industrial products company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $928.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $904.90 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 6.21%. The company’s revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.25 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.26%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on MSM. Wolfe Research started coverage on MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. Stephens downgraded MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.80.

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.