Quantbot Technologies LP Acquires New Shares in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 38,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,030,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 85.1% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,733,228 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $216,772,000 after acquiring an additional 1,256,706 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 938,980 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $74,467,000 after acquiring an additional 61,022 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 775,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $78,476,000 after acquiring an additional 100,000 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 12.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 765,578 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $60,718,000 after acquiring an additional 84,967 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in MSC Industrial Direct during the 4th quarter worth $56,088,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock opened at $81.06 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $81.52 and its 200-day moving average is $87.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.55 billion, a PE ratio of 15.74 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.05 and a 12-month high of $105.77.

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

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.10%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is 64.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on MSC Industrial Direct from $81.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. KeyCorp downgraded MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on 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. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, Baird R W downgraded MSC Industrial Direct from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.