Federated Hermes Inc. Buys 11,658 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 148.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 19,485 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,658 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $1,973,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 9,923 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,005,000 after acquiring an additional 423 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 62.6% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 3,451 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $349,000 after purchasing an additional 1,329 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 2,685 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,316,000. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the 4th quarter valued at about $220,000. Institutional investors own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $107.00.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Down 0.0 %

MSC Industrial Direct stock opened at $93.22 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $96.66 and a 200 day moving average of $97.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.74 and a beta of 0.95. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $88.61 and a 12-month high of $105.77. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, March 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $935.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $946.55 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.45 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 5.69 earnings per share for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th were given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 8th. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is currently 59.61%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mitchell Jacobson sold 24,501 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.31, for a total transaction of $2,433,194.31. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,683,810 shares in the company, valued at $167,219,171.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 18.80% of the company’s stock.

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.