R Squared Ltd Acquires 4,648 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. $MSM

R Squared Ltd raised its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 135.5% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 8,077 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,648 shares during the period. MSC Industrial Direct comprises about 0.5% of R Squared Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding. R Squared Ltd’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $999,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. VELA Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the 2nd quarter valued at $3,789,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the 2nd quarter worth $1,392,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. acquired a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the third quarter worth $6,355,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 13.0% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 236,504 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,132,000 after purchasing an additional 27,171 shares during the period. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 27.5% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 53,748 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,959,000 after purchasing an additional 11,580 shares during the period. 79.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other MSC Industrial Direct news, Director Reuben E. Slone bought 433 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $115.77 per share, with a total value of $50,128.41. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,128.41. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Mitchell Jacobson bought 250,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $115.94 per share, with a total value of $28,985,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 2,578,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $298,915,580.48. This trade represents a 10.74% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders own 19.00% of the company’s stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Down 1.2%

MSM opened at $119.44 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $122.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $110.67. The firm has a market cap of $6.67 billion, a PE ratio of 30.01 and a beta of 0.83. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $78.80 and a twelve month high of $133.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.78.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.04. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 5.55% and a return on equity of 18.72%. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.09 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 5.51 EPS for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.89 per share. This is a boost from MSC Industrial Direct’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.87. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 10th. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is presently 89.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $145.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded MSC Industrial Direct from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $135.00 in a report on Friday, October 23rd. DA Davidson set a $155.00 target price on MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Zacks Research raised MSC Industrial Direct from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on MSC Industrial Direct from $152.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MSC Industrial Direct has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.22.

MSC Industrial Direct Profile

MSC Industrial Direct is a North American distributor of metalworking products and maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) supplies. The company serves manufacturers and other industrial customers, offering products such as cutting tools, abrasives, hand tools, safety equipment, fasteners and electrical supplies. In addition to product distribution, MSC provides services designed to help customers manage purchasing and inventory. These include online ordering, inventory-management programs, vending solutions and technical support for metalworking and manufacturing applications.