MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. $MSM Shares Acquired by Osaic Holdings Inc.

Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its stake in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 44.2% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 20,480 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 6,274 shares during the quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc.’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $1,744,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,950,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 1,118.9% in the second quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 346,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,417,000 after buying an additional 317,613 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 116.2% during the 2nd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 269,210 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $22,888,000 after buying an additional 144,666 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 2,876.1% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 129,105 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,977,000 after purchasing an additional 124,767 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the second quarter worth about $8,004,000. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Down 0.8%

NYSE MSM opened at $86.72 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $86.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.56. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $68.10 and a 1-year high of $94.31. The company has a market capitalization of $4.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.36 and a beta of 0.84.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $978.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $964.03 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 15.21% and a net margin of 5.29%.The business’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.03 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 14th will be issued a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 14th. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is currently 97.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on MSM shares. Zacks Research lowered MSC Industrial Direct from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Wolfe Research lowered MSC Industrial Direct from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on MSC Industrial Direct from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $91.50.

Insider Transactions at MSC Industrial Direct

In other news, Director Philip Peller purchased 6,666 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $90.14 per share, for a total transaction of $600,873.24. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 9,537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $859,665.18. The trade was a 232.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Mitchell Jacobson bought 95,779 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $84.92 per share, for a total transaction of $8,133,552.68. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 2,219,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $188,462,531.40. The trade was a 4.51% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders acquired 211,342 shares of company stock valued at $17,951,965. Insiders own 19.00% of the company’s stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Company Profile

MSC Industrial Direct Co, Inc (NYSE: MSM) is a leading distributor of metalworking and maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products serving a broad range of industrial customers across North America. The company offers an extensive portfolio of cutting tools, abrasives, measuring and inspection instruments, fasteners, safety supplies and other essential components used in manufacturing, metalworking and production environments. MSC delivers products through a multi-channel distribution network, including an extensive branch system, e-commerce platform and dedicated sales force.

In addition to its core product offerings, MSC Industrial Direct provides value-added services designed to improve productivity and reduce downtime for its customers.