Macquarie Group Ltd. Boosts Position in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Macquarie Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM – Get Rating) by 3,756.2% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 18,394 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 17,917 shares during the period. Macquarie Group Ltd.’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $1,360,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in MSC Industrial Direct during the 3rd quarter worth about $248,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 218.8% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 177,570 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,929,000 after buying an additional 121,865 shares in the last quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 21.8% in the 3rd quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 156,426 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,389,000 after buying an additional 27,983 shares in the last quarter. PDT Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,158,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 47,600 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,466,000 after purchasing an additional 3,600 shares during the last quarter. 73.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

NYSE:MSM opened at $82.24 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market cap of $4.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $83.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $81.43. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $71.32 and a 1-year high of $90.04.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 5th. The industrial products company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.02. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 9.34% and a return on equity of 26.97%. The firm had revenue of $957.75 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $948.17 million. Equities research analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 10th were paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 9th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.84%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $92.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Friday, January 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $93.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MSC Industrial Direct news, EVP Douglas E. Jones sold 23,918 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.92, for a total transaction of $2,150,706.56. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,823 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $523,604.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other MSC Industrial Direct news, EVP Douglas E. Jones sold 885 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.00, for a total transaction of $77,880.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,938 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $434,544. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Douglas E. Jones sold 23,918 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.92, for a total transaction of $2,150,706.56. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,823 shares in the company, valued at approximately $523,604.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 28.39% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About MSC Industrial Direct

(Get Rating)

MSC Industrial Direct Co, Inc engages in the distribution of metalworking and maintenance, repair, and operations products and services. Its products include cutting tools, measuring instruments, tooling components, metalworking, fasteners, flat stock, raw materials, abrasives, machinery hand and power tools, safety and janitorial supplies, plumbing supplies, materials handling products, power transmission components, and electrical supplies.