Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Boosts Position in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. $MSM

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 37.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,819 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,207 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned 0.08% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $3,811,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,650,221 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $283,513,000 after buying an additional 231,961 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,781,503 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $138,369,000 after purchasing an additional 88,247 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 22.9% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,762,248 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $136,867,000 after purchasing an additional 327,833 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,240,418 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $96,343,000 after purchasing an additional 33,607 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 13.2% during the 1st quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,089,926 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $84,655,000 after purchasing an additional 126,765 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock opened at $89.38 on Thursday. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.10 and a twelve month high of $94.31. The stock has a market cap of $4.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.11 and a beta of 0.98. 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 moving average price of $89.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $85.98.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.06. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 15.21% and a net margin of 5.29%.The company had revenue of $978.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $964.03 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be given a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. This is a positive change from MSC Industrial Direct’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 12th. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is 97.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MSM. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Wall Street Zen cut MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Wolfe Research lowered MSC Industrial Direct from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded MSC Industrial Direct from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MSC Industrial Direct presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $91.50.

Insider Activity at MSC Industrial Direct

In other news, Director Mitchell Jacobson bought 95,779 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $84.92 per share, for a total transaction of $8,133,552.68. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 2,219,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $188,462,531.40. This trade represents a 4.51% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have acquired 181,806 shares of company stock worth $15,408,056 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 18.30% of the company’s stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Company 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.