Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Takes $1.57 Million Position in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 15,466 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,566,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MSM. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 34.8% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 5,480,861 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $467,024,000 after purchasing an additional 1,414,485 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in MSC Industrial Direct during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,273,000. Balyasny Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in MSC Industrial Direct during the 3rd quarter valued at about $14,719,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,817,016 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $472,790,000 after acquiring an additional 197,193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 188.6% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 239,453 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $17,985,000 after acquiring an additional 156,483 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

MSC Industrial Direct stock opened at $92.46 on Friday. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $88.14 and a 12-month high of $105.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.60 and a beta of 0.95. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $97.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $98.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.02. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 7.89% and a return on equity of 22.58%. The company had revenue of $935.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $946.55 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.45 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 5.69 earnings per share for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 8th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.59%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mitchell Jacobson sold 24,501 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.31, for a total value of $2,433,194.31. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,683,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $167,219,171.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 232,003 shares of company stock valued at $22,679,413. Insiders own 18.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $107.00.

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, 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.