Osaic Holdings Inc. Buys 6,274 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. $MSM

Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 44.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,480 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 6,274 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc.’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $1,744,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the 2nd quarter valued at $39,950,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 1,118.9% during the 2nd quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 346,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,417,000 after buying an additional 317,613 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 116.2% in the 2nd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 269,210 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $22,888,000 after acquiring an additional 144,666 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 2,876.1% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 129,105 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,977,000 after buying an additional 124,767 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $8,004,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Down 0.8%

MSM opened at $86.72 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.84 billion, a PE ratio of 24.36 and a beta of 0.84. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $86.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $87.56. MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. has a one year low of $68.10 and a one year high of $94.31.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.06. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 5.29% and a return on equity of 15.21%. The business had revenue of $978.18 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $964.03 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.03 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is 97.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Philip Peller purchased 6,666 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $90.14 per share, with a total value of $600,873.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 9,537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $859,665.18. The trade was a 232.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mitchell Jacobson acquired 22,870 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $84.96 per share, with a total value of $1,943,035.20. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 2,328,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $197,803,192.32. This trade represents a 0.99% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders bought a total of 211,342 shares of company stock worth $17,951,965 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 19.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MSM shares. Wall Street Zen lowered MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Wolfe Research cut shares of MSC Industrial Direct from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MSC Industrial Direct in a report on Friday, October 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, MSC Industrial Direct has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $91.50.

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.