Arizona State Retirement System Has $1.27 Million Stock Position in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Arizona State Retirement System decreased its position in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,274 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 408 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $1,265,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ellevest Inc. acquired a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp acquired a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the 2nd quarter worth $41,000. Vigilant Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the 1st quarter worth $50,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 33.6% in the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 624 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. Finally, Altshuler Shaham Ltd boosted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 154.8% in the 4th quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 486 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.51% of the company’s stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Up 0.4 %

MSC Industrial Direct stock opened at $93.98 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $98.49 and a 200-day moving average of $96.32. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a one year low of $76.75 and a one year high of $105.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 2.03 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company has a market cap of $5.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.38 and a beta of 1.02.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 25th. The industrial products company reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 8.56% and a return on equity of 24.29%. MSC Industrial Direct’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.79 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 6.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 14th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.53%. This is a boost from MSC Industrial Direct’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 13th. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Loop Capital raised shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $96.00 to $124.00 in a research note on Monday, October 9th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $105.60.

MSC Industrial Direct Company Profile

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, and the United Kingdom. Its 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.