Squarepoint Ops LLC Invests $1.35 Million in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. $MSM

Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 15,903 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,352,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 14.5% in the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 4,385 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $341,000 after acquiring an additional 555 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the first quarter valued at $8,110,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 8.7% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 70,865 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,504,000 after purchasing an additional 5,644 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct during the 1st quarter worth about $17,187,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 78.8% during the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,444 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 2,400 shares during the period. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MSC Industrial Direct news, Director Mitchell Jacobson bought 95,779 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $84.92 per share, for a total transaction of $8,133,552.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,219,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $188,462,531.40. The trade was a 4.51% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Philip Peller bought 6,666 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $90.14 per share, for a total transaction of $600,873.24. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 9,537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $859,665.18. This trade represents a 232.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have purchased a total of 211,342 shares of company stock worth $17,951,965 in the last 90 days. 19.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock opened at $86.46 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $86.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $87.28. The stock has a market cap of $4.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.29 and a beta of 0.84. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $68.10 and a 12-month high of $94.31.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.06. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 5.29% and a return on equity of 15.21%. The firm had revenue of $978.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $964.03 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. MSC Industrial Direct’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 14th will be given a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is 97.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, November 9th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $91.50.

MSC Industrial Direct Company Profile

MSC Industrial Direct Co, Inc (NYSE: MSM) is a leading distributor of metalworking and maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products serving a broad range of industrial customers across North America. The company offers an extensive portfolio of cutting tools, abrasives, measuring and inspection instruments, fasteners, safety supplies and other essential components used in manufacturing, metalworking and production environments. MSC delivers products through a multi-channel distribution network, including an extensive branch system, e-commerce platform and dedicated sales force.

In addition to its core product offerings, MSC Industrial Direct provides value-added services designed to improve productivity and reduce downtime for its customers.