Caprock Group LLC Acquires New Shares in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. $MSM

Caprock Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 18,755 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,692,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSM. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the second quarter worth about $39,950,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 1,118.9% during the 2nd quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 346,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,417,000 after purchasing an additional 317,613 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 116.2% in the 2nd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 269,210 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $22,888,000 after purchasing an additional 144,666 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 2,876.1% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 129,105 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,977,000 after purchasing an additional 124,767 shares during the period. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 124.2% in the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 195,176 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $17,984,000 after purchasing an additional 108,116 shares during the period. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock opened at $94.03 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $86.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $87.75. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.10 and a fifty-two week high of $96.99. The firm has a market cap of $5.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.69 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 7th. The industrial products company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.04. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 5.37% and a return on equity of 15.73%. The firm had revenue of $965.68 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $962.52 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.86 earnings per share. MSC Industrial Direct’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 14th were paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is currently 95.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Robert W. Baird set a $94.00 price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, MSC Industrial Direct presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MSC Industrial Direct news, Director Mitchell Jacobson purchased 22,870 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $84.96 per share, for a total transaction of $1,943,035.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,328,192 shares in the company, valued at $197,803,192.32. This represents a 0.99% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 19.00% of the company’s stock.

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.