Bleakley Financial Group LLC Purchases 561 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its position in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 8.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 7,007 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 561 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $710,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Quent Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 168.8% during the third quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 516 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd lifted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 154.8% in the 4th quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 486 shares during the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. bought a new position in MSC Industrial Direct during the 4th quarter worth approximately $77,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $93,000. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

MSC Industrial Direct stock opened at $92.68 on Friday. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $85.58 and a fifty-two week high of $105.77. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $97.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $98.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 2.01. The stock has a market cap of $5.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.64 and a beta of 0.95.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $935.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $946.55 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 22.58% and a net margin of 7.89%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.45 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSM has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Monday, April 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSC Industrial Direct

In other news, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total transaction of $1,442,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,417,038 shares in the company, valued at $136,248,203.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other MSC Industrial Direct news, Director Mitchell Jacobson sold 24,501 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.31, for a total value of $2,433,194.31. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,683,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $167,219,171.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total value of $1,442,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,417,038 shares in the company, valued at $136,248,203.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 254,503 shares of company stock worth $24,841,663. 18.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

MSC Industrial Direct 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, 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.