Great Lakes Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Great Lakes Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 9.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,588 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $363,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MSM. Meritage Portfolio Management increased its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 40.3% during the 4th quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 42,097 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,263,000 after buying an additional 12,088 shares in the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP purchased a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,668,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the 4th quarter valued at $1,316,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 39.9% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 462,756 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $45,420,000 after purchasing an additional 131,943 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 15.4% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 139,088 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,651,000 after purchasing an additional 18,559 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Monday, April 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $107.00.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of MSM opened at $91.08 on Thursday. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $89.24 and a 12-month high of $105.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.35 and a beta of 0.96. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $93.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.02. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.02. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 7.89% and a return on equity of 22.58%. The business had revenue of $935.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $946.55 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.45 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 5.69 EPS for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th were paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 8th. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.61%.

About MSC Industrial Direct

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.