Royce & Associates LP Has $35.89 Million Holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. $MSM

Royce & Associates LP decreased its stake in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 16.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 389,490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 76,200 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $35,888,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MSM. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,352,000. Arjuna Capital acquired a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the third quarter valued at approximately $4,274,000. Convergence Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the third quarter worth $1,190,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the second quarter worth $39,950,000. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Friday, February 6th. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Robert W. Baird set a $94.00 target price on MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Zacks Research downgraded MSC Industrial Direct from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MSC Industrial Direct currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.50.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE MSM opened at $93.88 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.65 and a beta of 0.84. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $88.52 and its 200 day moving average is $88.27. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $68.10 and a 52 week high of $96.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.73.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 7th. The industrial products company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $965.68 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $962.52 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.86 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 14th were issued a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 14th. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 95.08%.

MSC Industrial Direct Profile

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.