Brandes Investment Partners LP Boosts Stock Position in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Brandes Investment Partners LP grew its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 15.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 47,698 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,504 shares during the quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $3,563,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Swiss National Bank increased its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 88,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,595,000 after buying an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 50,548 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,775,000 after buying an additional 4,041 shares in the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,975,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 12,844 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $959,000 after buying an additional 1,024 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ceera Investments LLC increased its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 30.4% in the fourth quarter. Ceera Investments LLC now owns 14,348 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,072,000 after buying an additional 3,342 shares in the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. Stephens cut MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.80.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Up 3.6 %

Shares of NYSE:MSM opened at $77.16 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The business has a fifty day moving average of $80.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $81.55. The stock has a market cap of $4.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.41 and a beta of 0.90. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $72.79 and a 52-week high of $100.35.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The industrial products company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 6.21%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.25 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

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 $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.41%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 15th. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.15%.

MSC Industrial Direct 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.