MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. $MSM Stake Increased by Inscription Capital LLC

Inscription Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 174.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,884 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 6,924 shares during the period. Inscription Capital LLC’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $1,003,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 2.5% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,743,021 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $318,232,000 after purchasing an additional 92,800 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 508,514 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,234,000 after purchasing an additional 2,554 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct in the second quarter valued at approximately $39,950,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 21.5% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 362,768 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,843,000 after purchasing an additional 64,171 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 1,118.9% in the second quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 346,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,417,000 after purchasing an additional 317,613 shares in the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

MSM stock opened at $85.64 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.40 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $85.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $87.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.73. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.10 and a 52-week high of $94.31.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 7th. The industrial products company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $965.68 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $962.52 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 5.37% and a return on equity of 15.73%. MSC Industrial Direct’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.86 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 14th will be given a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 14th. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is presently 95.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MSM shares. Robert W. Baird set a $94.00 price objective on MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Zacks Research cut MSC Industrial Direct from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MSC Industrial Direct has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mitchell Jacobson acquired 22,870 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $84.96 per share, for a total transaction of $1,943,035.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,328,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $197,803,192.32. The trade was a 0.99% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Philip Peller bought 6,666 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $90.14 per share, with a total value of $600,873.24. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 9,537 shares in the company, valued at $859,665.18. This trade represents a 232.18% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have purchased a total of 211,342 shares of company stock valued at $17,951,965 over the last quarter. 19.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About MSC Industrial Direct

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.