Sterling Capital Management LLC Has $206,000 Stock Holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 57.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,756 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,007 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $206,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MSM. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 412.0% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 425 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 54.0% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 476 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 77.0% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 531 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wolfe Research raised shares of MSC Industrial Direct to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, April 6th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $83.00 to $74.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $82.20.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Up 1.9 %

MSM opened at $77.24 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $78.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $80.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.44 and a beta of 0.89. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.10 and a fifty-two week high of $94.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.93 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 3rd. The industrial products company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $891.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $908.30 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 6.21% and a return on equity of 17.80%. MSC Industrial Direct’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.18 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.40%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is presently 89.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mitchell Jacobson acquired 27,642 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 8th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $69.77 per share, with a total value of $1,928,582.34. Following the purchase, the director now owns 1,951,725 shares in the company, valued at $136,171,853.25. This trade represents a 1.44 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 18.30% of the company’s stock.

About MSC Industrial Direct

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.