Duality Advisers LP Acquires New Stake in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Duality Advisers LP bought a new position in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 16,471 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,668,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the third quarter valued at approximately $93,000. USA Financial Formulas raised its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 5,345.0% in the 3rd quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 1,089 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 1,069 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,160 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $115,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

NYSE MSM opened at $92.55 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.62 and a beta of 0.95. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $88.14 and a 1-year high of $105.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $97.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $97.98.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $935.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $946.55 million. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 22.58% and a net margin of 7.89%. MSC Industrial Direct’s revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.45 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 5.69 earnings per share for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is 59.61%.

Insider Activity at MSC Industrial Direct

In other MSC Industrial Direct news, Director Mitchell Jacobson sold 18,746 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.63, for a total value of $1,830,171.98. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,846,027 shares in the company, valued at $180,227,616.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 180,963 shares of company stock worth $17,712,711. 18.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on MSM. StockNews.com lowered MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 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. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their target price on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, MSC Industrial Direct currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $107.00.

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.