Macquarie Group Ltd. Buys 17,917 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Macquarie Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM – Get Rating) by 3,756.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,394 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,917 shares during the period. Macquarie Group Ltd.’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $1,360,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 138,629 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,094,000 after purchasing an additional 2,257 shares in the last quarter. Aviva PLC bought a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,478,000. Trexquant Investment LP bought a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,389,000. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 12,200.7% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 103,326 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,524,000 after purchasing an additional 102,486 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 15,381 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,120,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.89% of the company’s stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Down 2.0 %

NYSE:MSM opened at $82.24 on Friday. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a one year low of $71.32 and a one year high of $90.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $83.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.97, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.02.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 5th. The industrial products company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $957.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $948.17 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 9.34% and a return on equity of 26.97%. As a group, analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 10th were issued a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, January 9th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.84%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $92.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Friday, January 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $93.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MSC Industrial Direct news, EVP Douglas E. Jones sold 885 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.00, for a total value of $77,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,938 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $434,544. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Douglas E. Jones sold 885 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.00, for a total transaction of $77,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,938 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $434,544. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Douglas E. Jones sold 23,918 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.92, for a total transaction of $2,150,706.56. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,823 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $523,604.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 28.39% of the company’s stock.

About MSC Industrial Direct

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MSC Industrial Direct Co, Inc engages in the distribution of metalworking and maintenance, repair, and operations products and services. Its products include cutting tools, measuring instruments, tooling components, metalworking, fasteners, flat stock, raw materials, abrasives, machinery hand and power tools, safety and janitorial supplies, plumbing supplies, materials handling products, power transmission components, and electrical supplies.