Royce & Associates LP Has $35.39 Million Position in MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. $MSM

Royce & Associates LP lifted its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 8.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 420,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 31,260 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $35,385,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MSM. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 4.8% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 46,990 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,650,000 after buying an additional 2,164 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the first quarter worth about $455,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 79.9% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association bought a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the first quarter worth about $229,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the first quarter worth about $816,000. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Up 0.2%

MSM stock opened at $106.71 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $97.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $91.26. The company has a market cap of $5.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.68 and a beta of 0.83. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $77.78 and a twelve month high of $108.77.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $917.77 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $931.69 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 5.42% and a return on equity of 16.06%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.72 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 4.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 8th were paid a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 8th. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 93.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen downgraded MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. iA Financial set a $95.00 price objective on MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Friday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded MSC Industrial Direct from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $117.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, April 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.29.

MSC Industrial Direct 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.