Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Grows Stock Position in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. $MSM

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 1.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,357,419 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,484 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 2.43% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $125,240,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,112 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $287,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 0.5% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 88,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,147,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. increased its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 45,669 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,214,000 after purchasing an additional 1,220 shares during the period. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in MSC Industrial Direct during the 1st quarter valued at about $119,000. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System raised its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 89,489 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,257,000 after purchasing an additional 2,408 shares during the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MSM shares. Zacks Research upgraded MSC Industrial Direct from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded MSC Industrial Direct from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. DA Davidson raised their price target on MSC Industrial Direct from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn assumed coverage on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Monday, July 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $155.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.43.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:MSM opened at $126.60 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $117.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $101.62. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $78.80 and a 12-month high of $128.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.58 and a beta of 0.83.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 5.91% and a return on equity of 17.34%. MSC Industrial Direct’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 8th were given a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 8th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 84.06%.

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.