UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Has $20.88 Million Stock Holdings in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 20.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 279,557 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 48,411 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned about 0.50% of MSC Industrial Direct worth $20,880,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 412.0% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 425 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 342 shares during the period. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 77.0% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 531 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 116.2% in the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 1,230 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $92,000 after acquiring an additional 661 shares during the period. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MSM shares. Loop Capital cut their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $83.00 to $74.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $73.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $85.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mitchell Jacobson bought 27,642 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 8th. The stock was bought at an average price of $69.77 per share, for a total transaction of $1,928,582.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,951,725 shares in the company, valued at $136,171,853.25. The trade was a 1.44% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 18.30% of the company’s stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MSM opened at $83.73 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $77.28 and a 200-day moving average of $79.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.93. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.10 and a twelve month high of $90.81. The firm has a market cap of $4.67 billion, a PE ratio of 19.98 and a beta of 0.90.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 3rd. The industrial products company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.04. MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 6.21% and a return on equity of 17.80%. The firm had revenue of $891.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $908.30 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.18 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th were given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 9th. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 89.71%.

MSC Industrial Direct Company Profile

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.