Seven Eight Capital LP Makes New Investment in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new stake in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 15,065 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,195,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MSM. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 85.1% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,733,228 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $216,772,000 after acquiring an additional 1,256,706 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the fourth quarter valued at about $56,088,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct in the fourth quarter valued at about $21,649,000. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct during the first quarter worth about $16,571,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 804.5% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 173,653 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,772,000 after acquiring an additional 154,454 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSC Industrial Direct

In other news, SVP Kimberly Shacklett sold 4,885 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.60, for a total transaction of $413,271.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,897 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,091,086.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 18.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on MSM. StockNews.com downgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 8th. KeyCorp lowered shares of MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Baird R W downgraded MSC Industrial Direct from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on MSC Industrial Direct from $95.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $81.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.20.

MSC Industrial Direct Price Performance

MSM stock opened at $86.23 on Friday. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.05 and a 1 year high of $105.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.84 billion, a PE ratio of 16.34 and a beta of 0.86. The company’s 50-day moving average is $81.76 and its 200-day moving average is $86.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 2nd. The industrial products company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 21.31% and a net margin of 7.44%. The firm had revenue of $979.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $979.10 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.74 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 4.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th were issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.85%. MSC Industrial Direct’s payout ratio is 64.47%.

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.