MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. $MSM Stock: R Squared Ltd Grows Stake

R Squared Ltd lifted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 135.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,077 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,648 shares during the quarter. MSC Industrial Direct comprises approximately 0.5% of R Squared Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position. R Squared Ltd’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $999,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MSM. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 89.9% in the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 245 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Pension & Wealth Management Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in MSC Industrial Direct during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 60.3% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 319 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the third quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 257.1% in the third quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 425 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of MSM opened at $119.44 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $122.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $110.67. The stock has a market cap of $6.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.01 and a beta of 0.83. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $78.80 and a 12 month high of $133.95.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.04. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 18.72% and a net margin of 5.55%. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.09 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 5.51 EPS 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 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 11th will be given a $0.89 dividend. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 10th. This is a positive change from MSC Industrial Direct’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.87. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is 89.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSC Industrial Direct

In other news, Director Reuben E. Slone purchased 433 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $115.77 per share, with a total value of $50,128.41. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,128.41. The trade was a ? increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Mitchell Jacobson purchased 250,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $115.94 per share, for a total transaction of $28,985,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 2,578,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $298,915,580.48. The trade was a 10.74% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 19.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MSM shares. Robert W. Baird set a $130.00 price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $135.00 in a report on Friday, October 23rd. DA Davidson set a $155.00 target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $152.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.22.

MSC Industrial Direct Profile

MSC Industrial Direct is a North American distributor of metalworking products and maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) supplies. The company serves manufacturers and other industrial customers, offering products such as cutting tools, abrasives, hand tools, safety equipment, fasteners and electrical supplies. In addition to product distribution, MSC provides services designed to help customers manage purchasing and inventory. These include online ordering, inventory-management programs, vending solutions and technical support for metalworking and manufacturing applications.