Ceera Investments LLC Acquires 3,342 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Ceera Investments LLC lifted its position in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 30.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,348 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,342 shares during the period. Ceera Investments LLC’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $1,072,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MSM. Creative Planning raised its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 28.8% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 3,924 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $338,000 after acquiring an additional 878 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE raised its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,833 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $244,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 892.9% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 695 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 625 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 58,939 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,765,000 after acquiring an additional 9,655 shares during the period. Finally, Atria Investments Inc acquired a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $363,000. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MSM shares. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Stephens downgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, MSC Industrial Direct currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.80.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

Shares of MSM opened at $82.33 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.65 and a beta of 0.90. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $72.79 and a twelve month high of $100.35. The company has a 50 day moving average of $80.41 and a 200-day moving average of $81.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The industrial products company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $928.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $904.90 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 6.21% and a return on equity of 17.80%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.25 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.13%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.15%.

About MSC Industrial Direct

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.