Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. Has $2.46 Million Stock Holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM – Get Rating) by 20.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 30,040 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,997 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. owned 0.05% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $2,455,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 138,629 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,094,000 after purchasing an additional 2,257 shares in the last quarter. Aviva PLC acquired a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,478,000. Bleakley Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the 4th quarter valued at $1,031,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 34.1% during the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 10,780 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $881,000 after acquiring an additional 2,739 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 18,442 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,507,000 after acquiring an additional 527 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.89% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MSM shares. Loop Capital raised their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 5th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $95.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 5th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Wednesday, April 5th. StockNews.com started coverage on MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.67.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

MSM stock opened at $92.40 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $87.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $84.81. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $71.32 and a 1-year high of $94.07. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm has a market cap of $5.17 billion, a PE ratio of 14.22 and a beta of 1.03.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 4th. The industrial products company reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.10. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 26.66% and a net margin of 9.34%. The firm had revenue of $961.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $934.76 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.29 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 6.28 earnings per share for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 11th were given a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 10th. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is 48.62%.

Insider Activity at MSC Industrial Direct

In other MSC Industrial Direct news, SVP Kimberly Shacklett sold 6,442 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.99, for a total transaction of $586,157.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 10,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $975,048.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 28.39% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

MSC Industrial Direct Company Profile

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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.