DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Purchases 63,955 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its position in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 68.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 157,252 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 63,955 shares during the quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale owned approximately 0.28% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $15,458,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 30.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 528 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 3.3% in the first quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,978 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $386,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 8.3% in the first quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,340 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $227,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 2,685 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $272,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the period. Finally, Rockland Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 2.0% in the first quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 10,471 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,016,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MSC Industrial Direct news, SVP Kimberly Shacklett sold 4,885 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.60, for a total transaction of $413,271.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,897 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,091,086.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 18.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Down 1.5 %

MSC Industrial Direct stock traded down $1.27 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $83.08. 819,622 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 702,121. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.05 and a 12 month high of $105.77. The company has a market cap of $4.66 billion, a PE ratio of 16.13 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 2.01. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $82.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $91.19.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 2nd. The industrial products company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 7.44% and a return on equity of 21.31%. The business had revenue of $979.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $979.10 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.74 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th were issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 9th. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 8th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $95.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Baird R W cut shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.20.

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.