Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 211 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 0.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 102,875 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.18% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $7,990,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MSM. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,418,260 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $255,310,000 after buying an additional 193,860 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 29.2% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,987,455 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $148,443,000 after purchasing an additional 448,708 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,434,415 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $107,168,000 after purchasing an additional 96,335 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 127.5% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,206,811 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $90,137,000 after purchasing an additional 676,238 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,079,474 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $80,621,000 after purchasing an additional 102,660 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MSM shares. Stephens upped their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded MSC Industrial Direct from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $73.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wolfe Research upgraded MSC Industrial Direct to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 6th. Finally, Industrial Alliance Securities set a $89.00 price target on MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, MSC Industrial Direct presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $90.33.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

NYSE MSM opened at $88.48 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $4.93 billion, a PE ratio of 24.99 and a beta of 0.87. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $82.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $80.17. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $68.10 and a 1-year high of $92.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.05. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 14.99% and a net margin of 5.30%. The firm had revenue of $971.15 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $969.72 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.33 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.84%. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is presently 96.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSC Industrial Direct

In other news, SVP Kimberly Shacklett sold 2,130 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.00, for a total value of $195,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 14,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,348,444. The trade was a 12.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 18.30% of the company’s stock.

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.